Pork imports in Japan down 6%
Japan has reduced its total pig meat imports by 6% in the first quarter of 2021 compared with the same period last year. Japanese pig meat imports, including offal, totalled 244,800 tonnes, with Spain, Mexico and the US being the most affected suppliers of pork in this market. The US pork exports to Japan have dropped by 9%, totalled 89,000 tonnes. Meanwhile, shipments from Denmark (+12%) and Canada (+5%) lifted by 12% and 5% respectively, although this was not enough to outweigh losses from other suppliers.
Looking at the product mix, imports of fresh pork lifted 2% on the year, while frozen (-9%), processed (-15%) and offal (-20%) dropped back. "According to industry reports, fresh pork is usually sold through retail, while frozen pork is sold via foodservice. As such, disruption to eating out resulting from COVID-19 seems to have shifted demand away from frozen to fresh/chilled pork. However, this has not been enough to grow import demand overall.
For 2021 overall, the USDA expects Japanese pork consumption to remain relatively steady on last year’s levels, with foodservice sales anticipated to remain weak in the first half of 2021. This, combined with strong domestic production, is expected limit imports in 2021. Overall, imports are anticipated to lift just 1% on 2020," commented Bronwyn Magee, trainee analyst, AHDB.
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