General market information on China

Economy/Demographics

■ The Chinese economy is forecast to ease towards 2020, but will remain relatively strong in comparison to the        other major global economies (Figure 2).

■ China’s population is forecast to continue growing; however, reduced growth in China’s working-age population      (15-64 years) will have a dampening impact on the GDP (Figure 3 and 4).

■ On the back of the strong growth in personal income and improving infrastructure, combined with rapid                urbanisation in China, there is reportedly increasing demand for imported red meat from a wider area of China 

■ Additionally, reported rising middle-class population has assisted demand for red meat. China has the second            largest middle class population in the world at 157 million, which will reportedly surpass the US middle- class in        the next 10 years (Source: Meatingplace.com).

■ Previous food safety scandals in China have heightened Chinese consumer concerns over food safety. A notice        recently released by the State Council of the People’s Republic of China suggests that improving national food        safety standards will be a major task for government authorities this year (Source: China Daily).

■ It has been reported that strong demand for imported beef from China in recent months has partly been              triggered by concerns over food safety among Chinese consumers. It is said that consumers tend to prefer            imported meat (if they can afford it) due to their lingering food safety concerns regarding local product.