Chinese pork prices continue in an upward trend. In addition to the effects caused by African swine fever (ASF), the Chinese market suffers from coronavirus, which caused traffic blockages between provinces, involving products in general, including pork, resulting in reduced stocks and inflation. Moreover, there was container congestion at ports in February, with blocked logistics and lower availability of trucks.
There is news that the business flow in China has started to improve, but this is taking place slowly, which may affect its imports. Thus, the trend is for continued high in pork prices in the Asian country. For the Brazilian market, this fact tends to negatively impact the numbers of shipments in the short term, given the logistical chaos that prevails in the Asian country. US meat-packers reported problems in meat transportation, in some cases goods had to be transferred to neighboring countries. Reports point to the insufficiency of refrigerated containers at ports, with several cargoes held without being able to move within mainland China.
Another aspect that needs to be analyzed is the recent measure adopted by the Chinese government, which prohibited the consumption of the meat of wild and exotic animals. In this case, demand tends to focus on traditional proteins, that is, fish, beef, pork and chicken. This situation in the medium term may make China even more effective in the international meat market, importing more significant volumes. For this to happen, it is necessary that logistics are back to normal.