China’s chicken and dairy exports are rapidly expanding, with low-priced poultry dominating the global market and impacting traditional suppliers like Brazil and Thailand. According to a report by Reuters on Thursday, Chinese companies are actively expanding their exports. The U.S. Department of Agriculture predicts that China’s chicken meat exports will increase by 25% next year, reaching around 1.93 million metric tons.
This surge in food exports has drawn international attention, with concerns in the global economic community about the “China shock 2.0” extending from manufacturing to the food market. In September this year, China’s exports increased by 36.3% year-on-year, with exports remaining a crucial driver of the country’s economic growth amid weak domestic demand. Major trading partners like the U.S., EU, and Japan are increasingly worried about the influx of Chinese products impacting their industries and continue to pressure Beijing to address trade imbalances.
In Shandong’s Tengzhou, the Wintop Food Group’s factory processes 60 million chickens annually, with its products reaching over 20 countries. During a visit by Reuters journalists in August, the general manager, Party Yangyang, was busy receiving clients from countries such as Ghana, Iraq, and Jordan. Export business contributed half of the company’s profits last year and provided funding for factory expansion.
Party Yangyang mentioned in the Reuters interview that international customers previously distrusted the company’s product quality, but pricing is changing buyers’ attitudes. “When the meat is $1,000 cheaper per ton than competitors from Brazil and Thailand, they have to buy from China, or else they will lose out in the competition,” Party Yangyang said.
Kukrit Arepagorn, the manager of the Thai Chicken Processors Exporters Association, expressed concerns, stating that clients are increasingly using the price of low-cost Chinese chicken meat as a reference in negotiations. Ezequiel Pires, chairman of the international meat trade company Branexx, noted that Chinese chicken breast and bone-in chicken thigh prices are 10% to 20% cheaper than Brazilian products, leading to cheaper meat for consumers and intensified competition for existing suppliers.
According to a report by the U.S. Department of Agriculture released on October 9, China’s chicken meat exports were 1.085 million metric tons last year and are expected to increase to 1.54 million metric tons this year, reaching 1.925 million metric tons next year.
China’s share of the global chicken meat export market has increased from 3% in 2020 to 8% last year. The USDA’s report in April this year predicted that China’s global chicken meat trade share would rise to 9% this year.
The USDA stated that China is increasing its exports due to its price competitiveness and growing demand in emerging markets, with China and Brazil continuing to erode the U.S.’s share in the global chicken meat export market.
Data from the food consulting company Gira cited by Reuters shows that since 2022, China’s share in the EU processed poultry meat market has doubled to 10%, tripled in the UK market to over 14%, and gradually increased in the Japanese market.
After the African swine fever outbreak in 2018 and the COVID-19 pandemic, Chinese authorities incentivized large-scale producers to increase production and enhance food security through subsidies. Under the subsidy policy, China’s chicken meat production has exceeded domestic demand, leading to downward price pressure.
The OECD data cited by Reuters indicate that subsidies accounted for about 13% of China’s farmer’s total farm income from 2022 to 2024, nearly three times the level in the early 2000s.
Wintop Food Group also mentioned that local governments subsidize the salaries of over 2,000 employees in the company. Over a decade, the company has increased the feeding capacity in each chicken shed from 20,000 to 120,000 chickens.
The slaughter age of chickens has been reduced from 45 days to less than 42 days, approaching the U.S. standard of 35 days.
While chicken meat consumption in China continues to increase, production expansion is outpacing consumption growth. The USDA report in July this year indicated that China’s chicken meat production growth has surpassed domestic demand, leading to a surge in…