China’s Protein Demand Could Benefit U.S. Producers

A significant international development that could have a big impact on American farmers is China's strong demand for protein. 

Fred Gale, with USDA's ERS, said importing meat to China has kind of taken everyone by surprise.

"Back in 2010 we projected that China would be importing roughly one million tons of meat by now.  And then five years later we ratched that up to about two to three  million tons by now. But they actually imported over 9 million tons last year."

"Our projections show that China will continue to grow those meat imports up to more than 10 million tons by the end of the projection period so this is something that's caught us all off guard."

He added the new ERS report is projecting that China will be the world's top importer of beef and pork and a significant importer of poultry by 2030.

If you have a story idea for the PNW Ag Network, call (509) 547-1618, or e-mail gvaagen@cherrycreekmedia.com