This represents a rise of 116 per cent on the same period in 2011. Frozen offal imports increased by almost 10 per cent to 411,600 metric tonnes.

The main suppliers were: USA, Spain, Germany, Canada, while the top five pork importing companies, (including COFCO Meat Beijing), handled 28 per cent of the total imports.

Guided by its five year plan, China hopes to increase its meat production by some 85m tonnes by 2015, an increase of 17 per cent on 2010 levels. Pork will account 54m tonnes of this increase, which would boost production by seven per cent relative to 2010.

China’s consumers are expected to eat more meat as disposal income levels rise and the population level increases.

While pork as a percentage of overall meat consumption has dropped from over 85 per cent in 1985 to 65 per cent in 2010, per capita pork consumption is forecast to rise by more than 2kg/head by 2020 to 39.7kg/head.

China’s efforts to increase pork production focus around investment in large scale intensive production units. Over the last few weeks there have been a number of investment announcements.

The CP Group, controlled by Mr. Dhanin Chearavanont, ranked among the top 50 world business leaders, announced plans to invest €36 milion in Henan province to set up a hog project consisting of a grandparent generation swine farm, a parent generation swine farm and four hog-fattening farms.

Huaxi Hope Sichuan Tequ Investment Co., Ltd. plans to set up in Chongqing, a hog farm capable of finishing 300,000 head annually and a processing plant capable of handling over one million head while Guangdong WENS Group plans to invest €74m in Sichuan province to set up a hog farm capable of finishing 300,000 head annually.