Global meat production to increase by two percent next year

Global meat production will grow by more than two percent this year. After two years of decline from African swine fever, global production will increase to 346 million tons. The meat trade remains more or less the same because China itself is starting to produce again.

The small production growth is mainly caused by China, although production in Brazil, Vietnam, the United States and the European Union is also expected to increase. By contrast, according to the FAO Food Outlook report, declining production is projected for Australia, the Philippines and Argentina.

Within the global meat production, pork is expected to grow by more than 4%, but that is still 5% below the level before the outbreak of the ASF and the corona virus. Beef will rise by one percent, as will mutton. Poultry meat production is expected to increase by 1.3 percent to 135 million tons in 2021. Growth is expected in particular from the US, Brazil and China.

Significant investment in China, especially to build large-scale farms and processing plants, is supporting China's production growth. In Brazil, growing exports, especially to East Asia and the Middle East, are driving growth.

The United Nations expects production increases worldwide due to the high demand for affordable meat, especially in countries where the economy is not yet recovering well after the corona pandemic.