Commodities
Record Beef Imports Raising Risk of China Imposing Trade Curbs
- Chinese overseas purchases of the meat climbed 5% last year
- Wholesale prices have slumped for two years, hurting farmers
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China’s record beef imports are hitting a market where demand is slowing and prices have fallen to the lowest since 2019, raising the risk that authorities will take steps to curb the trade.
The No. 1 importer of the red meat took 2.87 million tons in 2024, an all-time high and 5% more than the previous year, according to customs data released this week. Chinese demand for beef has surged by nearly 40 times over the last half-century as a more affluent population developed a taste for steak and hotpots, but a report from local consultancy Mysteel shows consumption fell last year as cash-strapped consumers cut back.