Tomorrow is “turkey-day” in the U.S. but today the story is beef. Prices are up nearly 30 percent and while the cattle cycle is part of the story, there is little doubt that China is a major contributing factor. While beef imports by the rest of the world are little changed over the past 10-years, China’s beef imports are up nearly nine-fold. With a CAGR of 24 percent, it is unclear global beef suppliers can keep up if this demand growth continues. China’s own beef production slogs along with a 1.3 percent growth rate, which is roughly just a quarter of the rate of expanding domestic consumption. With no surplus meat carryover, import dependency is slated to continue. China now takes the equivalent of half of the be...

TAGS – Livestock, China