China’s meat imports surge to record as containers clear customs

China’s meat imports surged to a record in March, with containers of frozen pork, chicken and beef finally clearing customs after being delayed by the coronavirus outbreak.

The country imported 919,000 tons of meat and offal, according to customs data released Tuesday. Pork purchases reached 390,000 tons, while beef stood at 213,000 tons, a customs spokesman said at a press conference in Beijing.

While the data show a huge increase in shipments, many of the purchases were made earlier in the year, with buyers anticipating a jump in demand during Lunar New Year. However, the virus crisis exploded while the shipments were in transit, causing frozen pork, chicken and beef containers to pile up at some ports as the country hunkered down to stop the spread of the virus.

While China’s economy is gradually restarting, analysts expect meat imports to slow in the coming months. While restaurants are starting to reopen, demand hasn’t fully recovered, with many consumers still worried about eating out. Also, schools are still closed, meaning there’s no demand from their cafeterias.

China’s domestic pork prices have weakened this month following frequent weekly releases of pork from state reserves as the country reports several new cases of African swine fever. The drop in pork prices from last year’s record levels cooled the country’s food inflation in March.

“Record pork prices hurt domestic consumption last year,” said Lin Guofa, senior analyst at Bric Agriculture Group, a Beijing-based consulting firm. “We expect demand to drop further this year.”