BEIJING (Reuters) -China is aiming for meat output of 89 million tonnes by 2025, growing by an annual average of 2.8% from the 77.5 million tonnes produced in 2020, a cabinet document showed on Friday.
Pork production would remain stable at about 55 million tonnes, it added.
The document, a five year plan to modernise agriculture, follows a blueprint issued last month for development of the livestock sector over the next five years.
It said the output value of the pig breeding industry would reach more than 1.5 trillion yuan ($236 billion), with efforts made to ease fluctuations in production and stabilise supply.
Poultry meat would reach 22 million tonnes, beef would reach 6.8 million tonnes and lamb 5 million tonnes.
Both poultry and beef exceeded this level in 2021 but pork output was just under 53 million tonnes.
China’s 2020 meat production was significantly affected by the African swine fever virus that ravaged farms during 2018 and 2019.
Some experts doubt China will need as much as 55 million tonnes of pork in the future, as more consumers switch to other meats, such as chicken and beef.
($1 = 6.3541 Chinese yuan renminbi)
(Reporting by Dominique Patton; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)
