CHICAGO: With African swine fever wiping out a large portion of China’s pork, the Asian nation is turning to other types of protein both domestically and imported from around the world.
Hefty beef shipments from Australia signal that China’s consumers are already switching away from pork to beef, according to Alyssa Badger, director of global operations at HighGround Dairy in Chicago. And Ireland may up beef exports to China as well, she said.
At the same time, China’s farmers may be starting to slaughter their own dairy cows for beef, Badger said, noting that fluid milk and cream imports reached a record high for the Asian nation in April.
“With the lower availability of pork and rising chicken prices, culling domestic cows seems sensible,” she said.