China's pork imports: Spain the biggest winner – Germany the biggest loser In the competition for China's high pork imports, all exporting countries were initially involved with increasing quantities. In 2020, Chinese imports reached their peak at 5.55 million tons ; the EU-27 supplied more than half with around 3 million t. The two North American countries USA and Canada shipped almost 1.5 million t to the Middle Kingdom . Brazil's expansive pig industry reached almost 0.5 million t but is still on the rise. Among the EU export countries, Spain has clearly advanced and exports have almost tripled. In 2021 alone, the Iberians delivered around 1.35 million tons in the second half of the year, despite falling Chinese demand. They benefited from the ASP-related import ban in Germany. Other EU member states such as Denmark and Holland were just able to maintain their export volumes recently. Germany loses around 0.6 milliont Export potential to the Middle Kingdom. With a degree of self-sufficiency of around 125%, this is difficult to cope with. The US has clearly felt China's reduced import requirements; US exports have fallen by around a third. Canada's exports to China have almost halved . Brazil was recently only able to keep up its increasing exports with significantly falling prices. According to USDA estimates, Chinese pork imports will fall further to 4.3 million tons in 2022. Rising prices in the two North American supplier countries are affecting their competitive position. On the other hand, the EU export countries could come up with low prices for the time being, but the price alone is not the decisive factor in sales. Hopes are pinned on Chinese prices rising again in the second half of 2022.
