China's beef imports reached 1.57 million tonnes until October
Beef imports to China for the first three quarters of the year reached 1.57 million tonnes, of which 94% comes from top five suppliers in the market. Brazil's share in the Chinese beef market rose sharply, while Argentina, Uruguay, New Zealand and Australia have lost between 2% and 7% of their market share. At the same time, China's beef imports from Bolivia, Ukraine, Lithuania have increased significantly this year. The current market condition does not look so promising for beef exporters to China even if the last quarter of the year is seen as the peak in meat imports. An unexpected pig herd recovery is limiting beef consumption in China and prices have dropped in the last few months. Although the foodservice sector has begun to recover after the coronavirus crisis, large stocks of beef placed in cold storage units are forcing importers to destock rapidly to avoid any financial pressure by the end of the year. This situation is putting pressure on beef prices in China, which means that products delivered by Australia, Argentina or New Zealand may soon become less competitive in this market. According to Beef to China trading platform, foreign beef exporters have already lowered the future quotations within $350 to $500 per ton.
For 2021, is expected that secondary suppliers to have a larger share in the Chinese beef market due to the decline in prices.
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