China to import 1.4 million tons pig meat in 2012

China will import an estimated 1.4 million tons of pig meat in 2012, according to the latest Rabobank report, up from a projected 1.1 million tons in 2011. In the first nine months of 2011, China imported 870,000 tons of pork – the 1.1-million-ton estimate is equal to 2% of nationwide pork consumption in 2010, according to Wang Jimin, a professor from the Chinese Academy of Agriculture Science.  Outbreaks of porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome have reduced China's swine supply in recent years, and since 2007 China's pork imports have increased dramatically. Pork import volume in 2007 was 47,300 tons, up 115% from 2006, while remaining stable at 20,000 tons to 30,000 tons between 2000 and 2006. 2008 saw an increase of 93%, followed by a decline in 2009, and 2010 saw a 70.8% increase from 2009.