Meat Market Review - Emerging trends and outlook 2022
25/11/2022
The November issue of the publication summarizes the salient trends and market outlook in 2022. The international meat prices reached an all-time high in June 2022 amid tight global supplies. Moreover, global meat production in 2022 is expected to expand only moderately, constrained by animal diseases, rising input costs and extreme weather events. Meanwhile, world meat trade is likely to fall, weighed by a contraction in pig meat imports and economic slowdowns and downturns.
Food Outlook - November 2022
11/11/2022
FAO’s latest forecasts point to somewhat easing of market conditions for basic foodstuffs. However, increased climate variability, conflicts and geopolitical tensions, bleak economic prospects, soaring agricultural input costs and export restrictions continue to pose challenges to global food commodity market stability.
Meat Market Review - Overview of market and policy developments 2021
18/07/2022
The July issue of the publication summarizes the salient trends and drivers of market developments and significant public policy changes in 2021. The review finds that the international meat prices increased sharply in 2021 amid tight global supplies from leading exporters. Moreover, world meat output expanded, principally driven by increased pig meat output and global meat trade expanded in 2021, albeit at a slower pace than in the previous five years.
Meat Market Review: Emerging trends and outlook, December 2021
16/12/2021
The December issue of the Meat Market Review presents emerging trends and outlook of international meat prices, global meat production and trade in meat products. After rising consecutively for ten months since October 2020, the FAO Meat Price Index rose to 114.1 points in July this year, driven by solid global import demand outstripping supplies from major exporting countries. However, a slowdown in pig meat imports by China weighed on international meat prices since August. World meat production in 2021 is anticipated to expand, sustained by increased pig meat output in Asia. Global meat trade is forecast to increase by 1.1 percent, but marking the slowest pace of growth in six years.
Meat Market Review: Price and policy update, August 2021
05/08/2021
The FAO Meat Price Index averaged 110.3 points in July, up marginally from June, putting the index 19.6 percent above the corresponding month last year. In July, quotations for poultry meat rose the most, underpinned by increased imports by East Asia amidst limited production expansions in some producer regions, while those of ovine meat increased on high import purchases and seasonally declining supplies from Oceania. Bovine meat prices also strengthened, reflecting the tightening of global markets due to lower supplies from major producing regions and continued high imports, especially by China. Conversely, pig meat prices fell, following a decline in imports by China, notwithstanding limited supplies from Germany due to the spread of African swine fever in some pig farms.
Meat Market Review: Overview of global meat market developments, March 2021
18/03/2021
The Meat Market Review, March 2021 issue presents an overview of global meat market developments in 2020, including trends in international meat prices, global meat production and trade in meat and meat products. International meat prices fell in 2020, reflecting price declines across all meat types, underpinned by widespread import curtailments by many meat importing countries due to pandemic-related economic downturns, transport bottlenecks and foreign reserve limitations. Increased export availabilities in exporting countries owing to reduced food services sales and lower internal demand also depressed international meat prices. Regarding meat production, world meat output remained stable, despite pandemic related issues and impacts of African swine fever. The total world meat trade increased, albeit slowly. Fuelled by strong demand from East Asia, world trade in pig meat rose, but weak demand and limited supplies resulted in lower bovine and ovine meat trade. Despite market disruptions, world trade in poultry meat remained stable.
Meat Market Review: Emerging trends and outlook, December 2020
16/12/2020
The December issue of the Meat Market Review presents emerging trends and outlook of international meat prices, global meat production and trade in meat products. In November, the FAO Meat Price Index rose, after 10-months of decreases, underpinned by a fast pace of purchases by China and limited supplies of most meat products. World meat production in 2020 is forecast to fall due to the African swine fever viral disease that constrained pig meat production in East Asia. However, world trade in poultry and pig meat products is rising, induced by robust import demand from East Asia. Many other countries are curtailing imports, reflecting market disruptions, lower household incomes and logistical hurdles that resulted from the global health crisis.
Meat Market Review: Price and policy update, August 2020
23/08/2020
The FAO Meat Price Index fell in July, resulting from declines in price quotations for pig and bovine meats, overshadowing a recovery in the prices of poultry meat and an increase of those of ovine meat. High export availabilities, amid weak global import demand, underpinned pig and bovine meat price falls. Brazil’s production cuts were principally behind the recovery in poultry meat prices. Subdued demand for ovine meat put a break on the sharp price increases registered in previous months. Government responses to COVID-19 and animal diseases dominated the global meat policy landscape in the first six months of 2020.
Meat Market Review - Overview of global meat market developments - April 2019
30/04/2020
This publication provides an update on production, trade and price movements of meat products (bovine, ovine, pig and poultry meat). It aims to provide a clear snapshot view of key changes and underlying determinants of world dairy markets. It is the only publication that covers meat market developments in the entire world that is also updated regularly; it supports the division’s objective in providing market information relevant for policy makers, helping them in the process to take data-based policy decisions. • Average meat prices rebounded in 2019 following a fall in 2018. • Prices for pig meat rose the most in 2019, followed by bovine and poultry meat, but ovine meat eased from their highs. • Global meat production fell by 1.0 percent after two decades of steady growth in 2019, as pig meat production plummeted, only partially compensated by increases across all other meat complexes, especially poultry. • Global meat exports rose by 6.8 percent – the highest rate to record since 2012.
Meat Market Review: 2019 Outlook, December 2019
20/12/2019
Global meat output is forecast at 335 million tonnes (in carcass weight equivalent) in 2019, 1 percent lower than in 2018. This marks a departure from the stable growth trend recorded over the past two decades and indicates a sharper fall than anticipated in May, principally due to a deeper than earlier expected impact of African Swine Fever (ASF) in China and its spread to several East Asian countries. World meat exports is forecast at 36 million tonnes in 2019, up 6.7 percent from 2018, principally driven by increased imports by China due to domestic tightness caused by ASF-related production losses. The FAO Meat Price Index measured by the FAO Meat Price Index, have continued to register moderate month-on-month increases since the start of 2019, with pig meat, frozen in particular, recording the sharpest rise due to the surge in import demand by China. Poultry, ovine and bovine meat prices strengthened, also supported by stronger Asian demand.
Meat Market Review - Overview of global meat market developments, March 2019
22/03/2019
Global meat output in 2018 is estimated at 336.4 million tonnes, up 1.2 percent from 2017, principally originated in the United States, the EU, and the Russian Federation, but partially offset by a decline in China and stagnation in Brazil, two of the world’s largest meat producers. Meat output volumes expanded in all major regions in the world, especially in Europe and North America. Productivity improvements, as countries introduced better management practices, more streamlined production systems and new technology, were largely behind the output expansion. Moreover, droughts in some parts of the world, including in the United States in the first half of the year, in the EU during the summer months, and Australia almost throughout the year, led to higher animal slaughter. Across the various meat sub-sectors, bovine meat output (refer to meat derived from ruminant mammals including cows, ox and buffalos) registered the highest expansion (+2.1 percent), followed by poultry meat (+1.3 percent), but remained stable for ovine meat (meat derived from sheep and goats) (+0.6 percent) and pigmeat (+0.6 percent). World meat exports in 2018 is estimated at 33.8 million tonnes, up 2.9 percent from 2017, principally driven by increased shipments from the United States, Australia, Argentina and the EU, but retreated in India, China and Brazil. China, the world’s largest meat importer, increased its purchases significantly, as consumer demand for meat continued to rise amid a contraction in pigmeat output, partly due to the onset of the African swine fever. Elsewhere, imports increased in the Republic of Korea, and Viet Nam, while the Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia and the United States have cut back on imports. Across meat categories, world meat exports expanded at faster rates for ovine (+9.4 percent) and bovine (+6.1 percent) than for pigmeat (+1.6 percent) and poultry (+1.0 percent). The annual average value of world meat prices in 2018, measured by the FAO Meat Price Index, was 2.2 percent lower than in 2017, reflecting the declines in prices of pig (-8.1 percent) and poultry (-4.8 percent) meats and stability of bovine meat prices (+0.2 percent). Ovine meat prices increased by as much as 17 percent, but did not affect the average index value significantly because of its low weightage in the index. The spread of the African Swine Fever (ASF) and associated import restrictions weighed on international pigmeat price quotations while generally sluggish poultry import demand caused its prices to weaken. Abundant export supplies and robust demand from across the world characterized the global bovine market, keeping its prices stable. Price strength of ovine meat during the whole year was a result of strong import demand, combined with limited supplies from Oceania.
Meat Market Review: October 2018
22/10/2018
Global meat output is forecast to hover around 335 million tonnes in 2018, up 1.5 percent from 2017, the fastest pace of growth since 2014. The regained momentum coincides with expectations of a strong recovery of the meat sector in China, after three years of contraction, and of sizeable increases in the United States and the EU. At the regional level, the outlook is generally positive, with all regions expected to produce more meat this year. World meat exports in 2018 are forecast to set a new record of 33.6 million tonnes, up 2.6 percent from 2017. This comes in the wake of a continued increase in shipments from the United States amid a retreat by India, Brazil and South Africa. Australia, Argentina, Thailand and the EU are also expected to expand exports. Amid changes in production, consumer demand and policies, meat imports are likely to rise in some major importing countries, in particular China, Japan, Mexico and the Republic of Korea, while they may fall in the Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Singapore. Import demand is rising faster for bovine and ovine meat than for pigmeat and poultry. The FAO Meat Price Index reached 166.2 points in September, stable compared to January 2018, but 4.5 percent below the corresponding month in 2017. Since January 2018, international prices of bovine meat have weakened by 3.8 percent, reflecting the availability of ample export supplies.
Meat Market Review: April 2018
25/04/2018
World meat output, comprising bovine, pig, poultry and ovine meat, is estimated at 330 million tonnes in 2017, an increase of 1 percent from 2016. Among the main meat producing countries, total meat output expanded in the United States (+2.8%), Brazil (+2.1%), the Russian Federation (+4%), Argentina (+4.8%), Mexico (+3.5%), India (+2.7); stagnated in China and the EU; but declined in South Africa (-2.5%). Across the main meat categories, poultry meat output - the most widely produced meat reached 120.5 million tonnes in 2017, up 1.1 percent from 2016; followed by pig meat (118.7 million tonnes, +0.7%); bovine meat (70.8 million tonnes, +1.5%); and ovine meat (14.9 million tonnes, +1.3%). World meat exports in 2017 reached 32.7 million tonnes, 2.7 percent higher than in 2016. Meat exports increased especially in the United States (+5.6%), Turkey (+36.3%), Argentina (+22%) and Thailand (+8.8%), but declined in the EU (-3.4%), Chile (-9.5%), South Africa (-8.3%). Meat imports expanded mainly in Japan (+9.4), the Russian Federation (+10.4%), Viet Nam (+7.7%) and Angola (+25.3%), but declined in China (-6.3%), Saudi Arabia (-11%), the EU (-4.2%) and Canada (-1.8%). Across the main meat categories, in 2017 world trade expanded in bovine, poultry and ovine meat, but pig meat trade declined. With this development, poultry meat has become the most widely produced and internationally traded meat type in the world. The average international meat price increased by nearly 9 percent in 2017 over 2016. Meat export prices increased moderately from January to June 2017 but began levelling off afterwards and eased eventually. Strong import demand underpinned moderate price increases in the first half of the year, but between July and December, sluggish import demand and rises in export availabilities weighed on meat prices. Meat price increases in the first half of the year resulted in the average annual price for the whole year to exceed that of 2016. Across the meat categories, the average international price in 2017 for ovine meat rose by 25.6 percent, pig meat by 9.8 percent, poultry meat by 8.4 percent and bovine meat by 6.3 percent. Ovine meat prices rose due to strong import demand that outpaced export supplies from Oceania. Global markets for bovine, pig and poultry meat were well supplied, especially in the second half of the year