Pork consumption in China, the world's biggest consumer of the meat, may surge as the country's rural residents gain more disposable income and eat as much of the meat as city dwellers, a government researcher forecast.
Demand will also increase as more people eat meals outside their homes, Pan Yaoguo (
China's economy grew 11.9 percent in the second quarter from a year earlier, the fastest pace in 12 years. Higher incomes in the country have boosted consumption of foodstuffs from pork to sugar. Most Chinese people live in the countryside.
PHOTO: AP
"This happens in almost every country: As soon as incomes rise, consumers eat more meat," Pedro de Camargo Neto, president of the Brazilian Association of Pork Producers and Exporters, said at the congress yesterday. "We hope to start exporting pork here as soon as China gives us clearance."
So-called disposable incomes among urban households in China climbed 14.2 percent in the first half from a year earlier, according to official data. Rural earnings climbed 13.3 percent in the same period.
"The higher the incomes, the more meat people eat," Pan said. "Sooner or later, [rural Chinese] will eat as much meat as city and town dwellers, though at the moment there are still many of them who can't afford to eat much."
Rural pork consumption is about 20kg a year per person, while urban dwellers eat more than 40kg, Pan said. These levels lag behind Taiwan's 70kg per head, where consumption patterns are similar to those in China, Pan said.
Meat consumption by urban families doubled in the past 20 years, while the quantity consumed by farmers increased threefold, he said. Still, the more-affluent city dwellers at present buy 60 percent of the meat sold in the country, Pan said.
Increased pork consumption may boost China's purchases of the meat from overseas, including from the US. China plans to more than quadruple imports this year to 100,000 tonnes to try to ease a shortage that has helped drive up inflation, the Ministry of Commerce said on Sept. 7.
Domestic pork prices have risen 53.6 percent since January last year to 18.32 yuan (US$2.44) a kilogram on Sept. 7. Soaring food costs, including those of pork, pushed inflation to 6.5 percent last month, more than double the 3 percent annual target of the People's Bank of China.
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