A new bank report suggest that China’s government will need to increase beef imports in order to support the country’s domestic beef supply. The bank forecasts five years of 15% to 20% annual growth in China’s beef imports.
The report that local Chinese beef producers are facing many challenges, which makes it difficult for domestic production to catch up with demand in China’s beef market. The gap in productivity between China and other beef-producing countries continues to widen. so China will need to allow a substantial increase in imports in order to cover the supply gap.
The structural supply deficit will force an increase in China’s beef imports, including smuggled beef, of nearly 20% − or even double the current import volume by 2018.