Pork farmers are preparing for costs to skyrocket after China slapped a 135% price on American soybell imports, a key ingredient in animal feed, even if Beijing turns to producers like Brazil to meet its legume demand in the middle of a greater thrust.
Soybeans – which feeds the production of the pig industry of $ 435 million in China – remains the main agricultural exports in America, selling more than 27 million metric tonnes or more than half of $ 24.6 billion in total American agricultural products imported in 2024.
The steep price increases on agricultural products such as soybeans and corn, both main components of pig foods, will increase the cost of breeding and will result in higher food prices for ordinary consumers for China – the largest producer and pork consumer, said industry initiates.
On April 11, China announced 125% prices on American imports, in retaliation for the increase in Chinese imports by US President Donald Trump. With this, the total price on American soybell imports increased to 135%, after adding the 10% right of China imposed on certain American agricultural products in March.
At an increase in prices estimated at 125%, the CIF – cost, insurance and freight – the price of imports of American soybeans will increase to $ 1,026 per metric tonne, almost double that of Brazilian soybeans at around $ 580 per metric tonne, creating China to increase its soybean shipments from Brazil, said the derivative market, the operator of the CME market.
Since the two world’s largest economies, he has embarked on a previous trade war in 2018 during Donald Trump’s first mandate as American president, China has turned to countries like Brazil to respond to its request for agricultural products. He also made an effort for more self -sufficiency, reducing his dependence on imports of American agricultural products.
Today, China has considerably increased its dependence on Brazil, the world’s best producer in soybeans, significant 72.5 million metric tonnes of Brazilian soybeans in 2024, against 19 million metric tonnes in 2010. In comparison, American soybells have experienced its 2010 levels.
China is now making a similar thrust to import more protein and oil -rich seeds from Brazil to meet the demand for its pig industry, but pig producers think that this will not be enough to stem the impact of high prices on American agricultural imports.
“For soy and corn, they (the government) can import where they want. We are ordinary people, we have no choice,” said Sun Jun, a pork farmer in the southwest of Sichuan province.
Admittedly, the composition of soy and corn is raised in food for livestock, including pigs, poultry and cattle.
The sun estimates that an animal diet weighing 100 kilograms (220.5 pounds) would generally contain approximately 25 kilograms (55 pounds) of corn and wheat, and 20 kilograms (44 pounds) of soy meals, an oil extraction by-product from soy seeds.
“Once the price increases, it will increase the reproductive cost directly,” said Sun.
Sun is now buying around 3 metric tonnes of pork food each month, which costs around 14,000 yuan (US $ 1,915) per month, he said.
This already represents an increase of one third compared to around 10,500 yuan (US $ 1,436) which he would have engaged for the same quantity of pork food a week earlier, on the basis of the price of 3.46 yuan (49 cents) per kilogram (2.2 pounds), as indicated by the Chengdu Development and Reform Committee.
The impact of the rise in food costs will be felt by ordinary consumers thanks to higher food and meat prices, the initiates of the industry said.
“The reproduction costs of the livestock industry are already very high … The price of meat (consequently) has increased for more than half a-hen and is required to increase,” said a resident of Lilyi, Shandong, in RFA.
Read, like some of the other initiates in the industry, RFA interviewed for this story, only provided his first name for security reasons.
“The price increase will ultimately be borne by consumers,” she added.
From a macro point of view, China remains strongly dependent on imports of agricultural products, said Li Qiang, who previously worked at the prices of agricultural products.
“25% of the foods necessary for continentals depend on imports, and come mainly from the United States, mainly wheat and soy,” added Li, which lives in the city at the Qingdao prefecture in the Shandong province.
Shandong, which is a key player in the Chinese pig farming industry, has seen the construction of multi -storey pig farms at the center of the country’s efforts to accelerate domestic production to reduce its dependence on pork imports.
But the food and food sector of China, which imports a large part of its pork and its beef from the United States, will not be spared the effects of tariff increases, according to industry initiates.
Since the beginning of April, the price of high -end steaks has increased by 30% to 50%, said Geng, chef of a restaurant in the city of Wuhan in the province of Hubei.
His business buys beef from inner Mongolia, but high-quality steaks must still be imported from the United States, Australia and New Zealand, said Geng.
“If prices are added, the price will be even more expensive,” he added.
Published by Tenzin Pema and Mat Pennington