CHINA’S pork imports will reach record levels of as much as 4.6 million tons next year, Dutch financial services firm Rabobank said Friday, as domestic output falls to a historical low following a devastating disease outbreak.

China’s pork imports are already set to surpass previous records this year, reaching between 3.1 million and 3.3 million tons including offal, the bank said in a report, up from 2.1 million tons last year.

Though soaring hog prices recently have spurred large producers to begin restocking empty farms and speed up plans for new ones, the sow herd will begin recovering only next year, with pork supply picking up again from 2021, Rabobank said.

“We expect to see record-high imports in 2020, with record-low production,” the report said.

China’s pork production is expected to shrink by a quarter this year versus 2018 to about 40.5 million tons, and by another 10 to 15 percent in 2020, the bank said.

Poultry production meanwhile has jumped by around 10 percent this year, and will grow faster next year.(SD-Agencies)