China’s fast-growing protein industry is changing direction. After years of expanding farms and processors to strengthen food security, producers are increasingly looking abroad for demand, according to Reuters.
China became a net chicken exporter last year and shipped $2.6 billion worth of chicken products, almost twice the value recorded in 2020, customs data cited by Reuters showed. Dairy exports are on track to reach $600 million in 2026, about double their level three years earlier.
Production outgrew domestic demand
The export push follows a period of heavy investment in agriculture. Reuters reported that officials encouraged large-scale producers with subsidies as China rebuilt livestock herds after the 2018 African swine fever outbreak and the COVID-19 pandemic. OECD figures cited in the report put government support at about 13% of Chinese producers’ gross farm receipts from 2022 through 2024, nearly three times the share in the early 2000s.
Output kept rising even as demand shifted. China produced a record 59 million metric tons of pork last year, poultry output increased 7%, and dairy production passed the government’s 2025 target two years early. Meanwhile, per-capita pork consumption fell 13% from its 2023 peak, while chicken intake rose by more than 50% in the decade through 2024.
