USDA is predicting that China’s pork and beef imports will increase through 2008. According to a USDA agricultural attaché in Beijing, growth in pork and beef consumption in China continue to outstrip the country’s production capacity. In a semi-annual report, the attaché said that increased import projections were due to the worst snowstorms in 50 years during January and February and a slow recovery from porcine blue ear disease, which has hampered production in China.
The attaché forecast an 8 percent rise in China’s 2008 pork imports to 200,000 metric tons, as well as a 6 percent decline in the country's pork exports. The report put China's 2008 domestic pork production at 42 million metric tons, up 1 percent from 2007, but 16 percent below 2005.
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