Beef, sheepmeat and poultry are also targeted in a new plan launched by Beijing officials. A new plan presented by Chinese officials aims to increase the country's self-sufficiency rate for animal protein. Even if the plan doesn't come with a time horizon, China is looking to produce 95% of pork internally in order to reduce massive volumes imported since last year.
The country has been hit by African swine fever (ASF) since 2018 and it is dependent on imports to cover its deficit on animal protein. Also, the document talks about an increase in beef, sheepmeat and poultry production. The levels aimed by the Chinese officials are 85% of beef and sheep meat. Currently, a programme to support the pig farming sector has been set to help achieve normal levels of production from next year, while poultry is expected to grow by 14% in 2020. In the first half of the year, China imported more than 2 million tonnes of pork to cover 10% of the domestic demand.
Source: euromeatnews.com.
