Per capita consumption of meat products in China 2018-2029, by type

A slight increase in pork consumption per capita was witnessed in China in 2021, following four years of declines since 2017. The decline was primarily due to an outbreak of African Swine Fever in China in 2018 and 2019, which killed over 130 million pigs. The Chinese, on the other hand, consumed approximately 14 kilograms of poultry in 2021, slightly lower than the year prior.

Pork consumption in China

Pork has been served in Chinese cuisine for over 2,000 years. As a result of increased affluence and the maturing hog in the farming sector, pork has become increasingly available to ordinary Chinese households. In 2021, nearly 44 million metric tons of pork had been served on the dining tables in China. With lesser than 20 percent of the world’s population, the Chinese accounted for 40 percent of worldwide pork consumption. People in China’s south-western regions, Chongqing and Sichuan eat the most pork, while those in Xinjiang and Ningxia consume the least.

Poultry consumption in China

Due to its affordability, chicken and other fowl meat were also important parts of the Chinese diet. Poultry is by far the cheapest meat in China, according to a Statista estimate. The average price of chicken meat in 2021 amounted to approximately 5.6 U.S. dollars, nearly half the average price of pig meat. On the other side, China’s chicken consumption increased due to the notion of healthy eating. China’s poultry market turnover is predicted to exceed 21,000 U.S. dollars by 2026, more than double what it was in 2020.