Pork Production in China, Japan and South Korea

Abstract

Global pork markets are becoming more competitive, riding the wind of the bilateral free trade agreement. China is the world’s largest pork producer with nearly 50% of the world’s total production. China’s fast growing economy has provided its people with higher purchasing power, resulting in a rapid expansion of the Chinese swine industry over the past decades. Worldwide, China consumes the greatest amount of pork and it is believed that this trend will continue. Japan is the world’s largest pork importing country, even though it also produces a lot of pork. The Japanese swine industry encounters weighty obstacles in production costs and environmental limitations which result in reduced domestic supply and creates the situation in which Japan has to import a significant amount of pork for their consumption. South Korea is also a large buyer of pork, with a status greatly influenced by the struggle that the country has faced with Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) which occurred in 2000, 2002 and 2010. High production costs, low production efficiency, and forced culling following the FMD outbreak resulted in the loss of many hog farming households in the country, reducing supply of domestic pork in the face of continued demand. Overall, pork production in these economically important countries can greatly impact the industry globally. The goal of this review paper is to describe pork production in China, Japan, and South Korea and discuss these countries’ role in global pork export markets.