FAO food report for meat June 2013
In its biannual forecast for the global food markets, the FAO estimates that meat production will be in the region of 308 million tons in 2013. The increase compared to 2012 is expected to be a moderate 1.4%. The smallest increase of just 0.9% is expected in the beef sector and the largest growth of 1.8% in the poultry sector. Pork has a production share of around 37%, while beef only accounts for 22%.
In contrast, the international beef trade is expected to increase by 4.6% in 2013, with India and the South American countries once again leading the way. Global pork trade is estimated to be 4.1% lower, with the importing countries China/Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea and Russia ordering significantly lower imports due to their own production increases.
Per capita consumption in developing countries is estimated at 33.3 kg per year, compared to 79.3 kg per year in industrialized countries. It is interesting to note, however, that the rate of increase in developing countries (+0.7%) is more than twice as high as the average for all industrialized countries (+0.3%). In the highly industrialized countries, the demand for meat has been stagnating for years and in some cases is even declining significantly. In emerging countries, the growth rates are even higher, depending on income trends and consumption habits.
Meat prices have been at a high level for almost 3 years. The FAO meat price index now stands at 179 if the average for the years 2000 to 2004 is taken as 100%. Meat prices remained at a fairly high level in the first half of 2013, but are expected to fall again slightly in the second half of the year. This is due to falling feed prices. However, an outright price collapse is not expected.
