🇨🇳 ChinaProtein Intelligence

China is the world's largest protein consumer, accounting for over 50% of global pork production and consumption, with import demand increasingly setting global beef and seafood prices.

China's protein market is dominated by domestic pork production — centred in Sichuan, Henan, and Shandong — with WH Group (Shuanghui), New Hope Liuhe, and COFCO as the leading integrated players. Post-ASF (African Swine Fever) herd reconstruction 2019–2023 drove record beef and poultry import volumes, which have now partially normalised. Chinese customs import data, released monthly, is the single most market-moving figure for Brazilian beef and Australian sheepmeat exporters.

When Chinese domestic pork prices exceed 24 CNY/kg, Chinese processors shift to frozen imported beef as a pork substitute in processed food. This creates the most reliable and largest-volume protein import demand pulse in the world — and a direct export opportunity for Brazil, Argentina, and Australia.