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Global beef trends: Spotlight is on China

An ag economist says on average, growth in beef consumption rates around the world have been lackluster.

But, Purdue University’s David Widmar says the story is quite different for China.  “China’s beef consumption has increased at about an 8 percent annual increase,” he says.  “China right now is the third largest consumer globally of beef.  If that trend were to continue in the future – we could expect beef consumption in China to double in less than 10 years.”

He tells Brownfield that increase would make China the number one consumer of beef in the world.

Widmar says China relies on imports to meet the country’s needs and once technical hurdles are cleared, the market presents numerous opportunities for US producers.  “China’s increasing its consumption at a rate faster than production,” he says.  “They’ve turned a lot to Brazil in the past.  And now when we think about their future it turns to the US.  And they’re definitely going to be thinking about those higher end premium cuts and meat qualities.”

Widmar says maintaining trade relationships and increasing market access will be key in profitability for US beef producers.  Currently – the US accounts for nearly 12 percent of global exports.

AUDIO: David Widmar, Purdue ag economist