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STUDY ON THE PORK MARKET WORLDWIDE

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Scientific Papers Series Management, Economic Engineering in Agriculture and Rural Development
Vol. 17, Issue 4, 2017
PRINT ISSN 2284-7995, E-ISSN 2285-3952

STUDY ON THE PORK MARKET WORLDWIDE

Elena SOARE, Irina-Adriana CHIURCIU

University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine Bucharest, 59 Marasti, District 1,

011464, Bucharest, Romania, Phone: +40213182564, Fax:+40213182888, Mobile:+40744 6474
10, Emails: soare.elenausamv@gmail.com; irina.chiurciu@yahoo.ro

Corresponding author: soare.elenausamv@gmail.com

Abstract

The present study analyzes the evolution of the pork market worldwide in the 2010-2016 period. For the analysis of
the pork market in the world, several specific indicators were interpreted. Among the indicators analyzed in this study,
the most significant are: number of pigs worldwide, global pork production, the total consumption of pork in the
world, average prices for living pigs at the Chicago Board of Trade, imports and exports of pork etc. In the analysis
of the main indicators it is showed that they varied from one year to another due to the decisions taken by the main
actors which are present on the international pork market. In this study, there have been made clarifications on the
evolution of the pork consumption worldwide for the period 2018-2026. This aspect is very important for both
producers and consumers of pork that are found on the globe. The main statistical data that led to the current study
were taken from national statistical sites as well as from different specialized materials.

Key words: pork, prices, imports and exports, total consumption of pork, swine flocks worldwide

INTRODUCTION Consequently, meat consumption is a basic

indicator of the standard of living as presented
From the food point of view, meat is a in the statistics made by sociologists and
significant source of nutrients and energy economists [7].
indispensable to modern humans. Meat is a According to the studies, the pigs are a
very important food for the world's population category of animals that provide a significant
due to: balanced chemical composition in amount of meat for human consumption.
trophies; culinary potential and superior Currently, swine meat provides over 30% of
digestibility. The chemical composition of the the world-wide meat consumption [8].
meat differs depending on the species [12, 13, Regarding the nutritional characteristics of
16]. pork meat, it is necessary to specify that these
The chemical composition for the category depend on several factors, of which the most
"Meat Porcine for Meat" g/100 is the representative ones are: the breed; the feeding
following: water 51.5 g; proteins 41.3 g; lipids mode; the age; the sex; the health condition and
33.3 g and mineral salts 0.9 g. The energy value the slaughtering conditions etc [14, 15, 17].
for this category of meat is 357 kcal/100 g. The Pork is characterized by high fat content on the
energy value for pork is generally high one hand, and on the other hand it is an
compared to other types of meat. For example, important source of protein, iron and zinc [18].
rabbit meat has an energy value of 138 kcal
/100 g [3]. MATERIALS AND METHODS
In animal productions, meat represents the
main production in terms of both value and In order to carry out this study, a series of
protein, compared to milk production. statistical data regarding the intentional pig
Worldwide, meat has a significant share in meat market was taken and analyzed. The most
trade relations between world states. In the representative indicators of this market are:
contemporary world, scientific nutrition gives swine flocks worldwide; total production of
meat and meat preparations an essential role in pork; per capita consumption of pork; average
the ration's daily structure [1, 2, 11]. prices at the Chicago Board of Trade; imports
and exports of pork. The statistical data that led
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Scientific Papers Series Management, Economic Engineering in Agriculture and Rural Development
Vol. 17, Issue 4, 2017
PRINT ISSN 2284-7995, E-ISSN 2285-3952
to the research were taken from international
110,652 110,618
profile sites as well as from various specialty 109,969
108,850
materials.
107,016
RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS
103,032 103,629
Worldwide swine flocks during 2010-2016
recorded fluctuations from one year to the next
(Figure 1). The largest flock was registered in
2013 (802,200 thousand heads). On the
opposite side, the smallest flock was recorded 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016
in 2016 (785,241 thousand heads). Fig. 2. Pork production worldwide in 2010-2016
(Thousands of tons equivalent casing)
Source:[5,6]

The increase in pork production recorded in

China was mainly due to an increase in the
domestic demand for pork.
A significant aspect worth highlighting is that
in China the pork sector is stimulated by
government subsidies. Worldwide, among the
top pork producers, the second is the European
Union, and the third is the USA [25].
For the year 2017, a production of pigs of
111,034 thousand tons equivalent casing was
Fig.1 Swine flocks worldwide, 2010-2016 (Thousands provided, and for January-October 2018, a
Heads) production of 113,070 thousand tons
Source: [5, 6]
equivalent casing. From the predicted data for
pork in 2017, the production is expected to
From the statistical data on swine flocks in the
increase by 0.96% compared to 2016.
world, it can be noticed that in 2016, the results
Globally, meat consumption is generally
decreased by 1.1% compared to 2011.
influenced by a number of factors, such as:
According to the official data published for the
food consumption patterns; the standard of
year 2017, there is a forecast of 769,053
living; meat production and animal husbandry
thousand swine heads and for January-October
conditions; consumer prices etc.
2018, an effective of 755,242 thousand heads
It is necessary to mention that, compared to
of pigs. From the predicted data, it can easily
other categories of goods, meat production is
be noticed that swine effectives will go on a
carried out at relatively high costs. The
declining trend.
increase in meat consumption in some
The production of pork oscillated during the
countries is mainly due to the increase in
analyzed period (figure 2). The largest pork
population incomes and urbanization.
production was recorded in 2014 (110,652
As urbanization intensifies, a number of
thousand tons equivalent casing), and the
consumers have changed their eating habits,
lowest production was registered in 2010
including a higher amount of animal protein
(103,032 thousand tons equivalent casing). In
[9].
2016, pork production grew by 6.7% compared
The total consumption of pork in the world
to 2010.
during the analyzed period recorded variations
According to official statistics the main pork
from one year to the next (Figure 3). In 2010,
producer worldwide is China. It accounts about
the world's lowest total pork consumption was
50% of the world's world production of pork.
102,898 thousand tons equivalent casing. The
highest pork consumption was recorded in
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Vol. 17, Issue 4, 2017
PRINT ISSN 2284-7995, E-ISSN 2285-3952
2015 (110,148 thousand tons equivalent Table 1. World consumption of pork per capita in 2010-
casing). In 2016, total pork consumption 2016 (kilograms / inhabitant)
Specification 2010 2012 2014 2016
worldwide increased by 6.5% compared to
2010. Pig meat 15.82 15.74 16.12 15.74

Source:[10]

According to official statistics, in 2016, the

highest meat consumption per capita in the
world was recorded for pork (39.8% of the total
meat consumed per capita) [19].
According to statistical data published by the
OECD, in 2016 the largest regions and
countries consuming pork were: European
Fig. 3. Total consumption of pork in the world during Union (32.3 kg/capita); China (30.8 kg/capita);
the period 2010-2016 (Thousands of tons equivalent Vietnam (28.9 kg/capita); Korea (28.3 kg/
casing)
capita); OECD-Total (23.3 kg/ capita); United
Source: [5,6]
States (22.8 kg/capita); Paraguay (20.9
It is important to note that the high kg/capita); Australia (20.5 kg/capita); Russia
consumption of pork is recorded in China. On (20.0 kg/ capita) etc.
the following positions in the pork consumers According to the same source, at the opposite
top are: European Union; US; Russia; Brazil; end, with the lowest consumption of meat, we
Japan; Vietnam, Mexico and Korea [25]. find: South Africa (3.4 kg/capita); Peru (3.3
In terms of total pork consumption worldwide kg/capita); Haiti (3.2 kg/capita); Indonesia (2.3
for the period 2018-2026, it is estimated that it kg/capita); Israel (1.6 kg/capita); Zambia (1.5
will be on a positive trend. The lowest quantity kg/capita); Sub-Saharan Africa (1.1 kg/capita);
consumed will be 118,653.3 thousand tons Nigeria (1.1 kg/capita); Ghana (0.8 kg/capita);
(2018), and the highest will be 127,520.7 Saudi Arabia (0.2 kg/capita), Tanzania
thousand tons (2026) (Figure 4). (0.2kg/capita); India (0.2 kg/capita); Egypt
(0.2 kg/capita); Turkey (0.1 kg/capita); Algeria
(0.1 kg/capita).
According to official estimations, between
2018 and 2026, world pork consumption per
capita will not exceed 16.0 kg (Table 2) [9].

Table 2. Forecasts of pork consumption per capita

globally in the period 2018-2026 (kilograms /
inhabitant)
Specificatio 2018 2020 2022 2024 2026
n
Pig meat 15.6 15.6 15.6 15.6 15.5
6 9 2 2 6

Source: [10]
Fig.4. Forecasts of total pork consumption worldwide in
the period 2018-2026 (Thousand tons) A determining factor in the pig meat market is
Source:[9] the average price for live pigs. In the paper are
presented the average prices for live pigs at the
Regarding pork consumption per capita in the
Chicago Board of Trade in the period 2010-
world, it varied slightly over the analyzed
2014. These varied over the analyzed period
period (Table 1).
from one year to the next. The highest price
was $ 2,335.00/ton (2014), and the lowest price
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Scientific Papers Series Management, Economic Engineering in Agriculture and Rural Development
Vol. 17, Issue 4, 2017
PRINT ISSN 2284-7995, E-ISSN 2285-3952
was $ 1,667.80/ton (2010) (Fig. 5). From the Quantitative pig meat exports fluctuated
data presented, it can be noticed that in 2014, between 6,032-8,320 thousand tons in the
the average price for live pigs increased by equivalent casing (Fig. 7). It is noticed that, in
40.00% compared to 2010. 2016, the quantitative exports of pork rose by
37.9% compared to 2010.

Fig. 5. Average prices for live pigs at the Chicago Board

of Trade, 2010-2014 ($ / ton)
Source: [20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25]
Fig.7. Dynamics of quantitative exports of pork in the
world during the period 2010-2016 (Thousand tons in
The international pig meat market in 2010- the equivalent casing)
2016 was dominated by a variation in both Source: [5,6]
quantitative imports and quantitative exports.
Imports of pork ranged between 5,901-7,973 In terms of exports of fresh, chilled or frozen
thousand tons in equivalent casing (figure 6). pork meat in the world in 2016, they were
In 2016, quantitative imports of pork increased dominated by: Germany (4,349,885 $); United
by 35.1% compared to 2010. States of America ($ 4,224,777); Spain
(3,550,205 $); Denmark (2,628,643 $); Canada
(2,387,446 $); Netherlands (2,018,068 $);
Brazil (1,349,499 $); Belgium (1,318,556 $);
France (878,573 $) and Poland (836,970 $) [4].

CONCLUSIONS

Following the analysis of the world pork

market, we found the following:
-the swine flocks have fluctuated from one year
to the next;
Fig. 6. Dynamics of quantitative imports of pork in the -the largest number of pigs was 802,200
world during 2010-2016 (Thousand tons in equivalent thousand heads (2013);
casing) -pork production depended, on the one hand,
Source: [5, 6]
on the flocks for meat and on the other hand on
the weight of the pigs in the slaughterhouse;
In the world, in 2016, imports of fresh, chilled
-the most significant pork production was
or frozen pig meat were dominated by: Japan
achieved in 2014 (110,652 thousand tons
(4,166,179 $); China (3,190,419 $); Italy
equivalent casing);
(1,982,137 $); Germany (1,592,068 $); United
-in 2015, the highest consumption of pork
States of America (1,330,068 $); Poland
(110.148 thousand tons equivalent casing) was
(1,314,978 $); Mexico (1,312,295 $); Republic
registered;
of Korea (1,268,026 $); United Kingdom
-in 2016, according to official statistical data,
(1,050,654 $) and Hong Kong, China (876,197
the largest pork consumers per inhabitant, with
$) [4].
over 20 kilograms per inhabitant, were:
European Union (32.3 kg/capita); China (30.8
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Vol. 17, Issue 4, 2017
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