China charts plans to boost pork imports

Nation sourcing more varieties from abroad and providing greater market access to companies

China will look to procure more types of pork from overseas destinations and expand domestic market access for registered foreign enterprises, as it contemplates more measures to tide over the pork shortage in the country due to an African swine fever outbreak, officials said.

The African swine fever has resulted in a shortage of more than 10 million metric tons of pork, or at least 20 percent of China's total pork output this year. It will take at least six months for a full recovery in the pig production capacity and breeding of new pigs. Pork, a staple, accounts for more than 60 percent of China's meat consumption.