Ranking of pork producing, exporting, importing, and consuming countries in 2024

Top 10 world producers

The first place in the world ranking of pork producers in 2024 would again be occupied by China, with a 48.4 % share in the overall total (115.5 Mt) and production reaching 55.9 Mt, which would represent a decrease of 1.0% compared to 2023 (56.5 Mt).

In second place would be the European Union, with an 18.3% share and production reaching 21.2 Mt, representing a decrease of 1.6% compared to 2023, while the United States would occupy third place, participating with an 11.0% share, with production that would stand at 12.7 Mt, a 2.2% increase compared to the previous year. The leading countries in Latin America, Brazil and Mexico, would occupy the 4th and 8th places respectively, with production reaching 4.8 and 1.6 Mt.

Top 10 world exporters

With a volume similar to that consolidated in 2023 (3.2 Mt), the European Union would remain the largest pork exporter in 2024, with a share of 30.9% of the overall total (10.4 Mt). The United States would occupy second place, accounting for 30.4% of exports and with a volume of 3.15 Mt, representing an increase of 2.8% over the previous year.

Brazil would occupy third place with a share of 14.8% and an export volume of 1.53 Mt, which would represent a 5.5% increase, pushing Canada into fourth place globally. Similar volumes are forecast for Mexico and Chile, which would reach 265 Mt, representing a growth of 1.9% for both countries, placing them in the 5th and 6th positions in the world ranking.

Top 10 world importers

The ranking of importing countries would be led by China, which would participate with 23.6% of the world total (9.7 Mt) with a volume of 2.3 Mt, a figure that in turn would represent an increase of 1.1% compared to 2023. In second place, we would have Japan with a share of 15.5%, while Mexico, in addition to occupying third place worldwide with 13.4% of the overall total, would remain the largest importer of pork in Latin America with 1.31 Mt. Fourth and 5th places would be occupied by the United Kingdom and South Korea respectively, with volumes of around 710,000 t for each country.

Top 10 apparent consumers

With a share of over 50%, China would continue to lead world pork consumption in 2024 with approximately 58.1 Mt, while the European Union and the United States would occupy the second and third positions with shares of 15.7 and 8.7%, respectively. Russia and Vietnam would rank 4th and 5th respectively, with consumption volumes of around 3.8 Mt.

Conclusions

As a consequence of the industry's situation, added to the instability of the economy in general, in recent years the world pig farming panorama has undergone important changes.

While leading countries such as China, the European Union, and the United States have maintained, and will maintain, their positions and relevance in terms of production, international trade flows, and consumption, despite the decrease in their key indicators, in recent years, countries such as Brazil and Russia have been gradually climbing the ranks of the world's leading pig producers, gradually climbing the ladder, increasing their production and conquering an important space within the global pig industry, thus making up, to a certain extent, for the decline in the supply from the major producers, which has been possible thanks to the sustained growth of consumption, which is resisting the intricate economic dynamics.

November 1, 2023/ 333 Latin America with data from USDA/ United States.
https://apps.fas.usda.gov/