As the world’s largest pork consumer, China is a very intriguing market for the US industry. But China’s pork production is also by far the world’s largest, so its demand for imported pork can vary greatly according to its own production cycles.

Joel Haggard, US Meat Export Federation senior vice president for the Asia Pacific region, explains that capitalising on opportunities for US pork in China depends greatly on accurate market intelligence – which is not easy to come by. With four offices in China and another in Hong Kong, Mr Haggard and his staff obtain much of this information through face-to-face meetings with key industry contacts.

Mr Haggard also discusses how most opportunities for US pork in China are in the foodservice sector – which is growing by 15 per cent to 20 per cent per year – and with China’s major meat processors. Retail marketing opportunities may develop in the future, but are very limited at this time.

You can listen to Mr Haggard's audio on US pork opportunities in China by clicking here.