Brazil has become the main supplier of pork to China, said Ricardo Santin, vice president of markets for the Brazilian Association of Animal Proteins (ABPA), adding that sales in March increased 178% year-on-year to 13,600 tons.

“This growth rate was also registered with Hong Kong, with a 58% increase, and given the trade disputes between China and the United States, numbers are expected to grow further, gradually regaining previously levels of shipments, reducing the losses caused by the suspension of sales to Russia,” said Santin, quoted by the Brazilian press.

Figures released by the Brazilian Ministry of Industry, Foreign Trade and Services showed that Brazilian exports of pork to China reached 39,200 tons in the first quarter of this year, an increase of 151.6% compared to the same period of the previous year.

The rapid growth in the sale of pork to China has helped to offset the drop in exports to Russia, which banned imports of Brazilian pork products in December 2017, Chinese state newspaper Global Times reported.

In the first quarter of 2018, Brazilian pork companies exported 129,300 tons, which was 11.9% below the tonnage recorded in 2017, with revenues falling 24.6% to US$275.6 million, against US$365.5 million a year earlier. (macauhub)