China’s protein consumption has changed: Where protein exporters are getting it wrong

Protein exporters to China will need to adjust to structural and cyclical changes taking place place there, agribusiness banking specialist Rabobank says. The bank said in a report that consumption trends are evolving in China’s animal protein market due to cyclical factors such as market oversupply and an economic slowdown, along with structural factors such as demographic shifts and changing consumer values. “Across recent decades, China’s animal proteins market has seen plenty of change due to rapid economic growth, the opening of its markets , and digitisation trends triggering the fast evolution of the country’s consumer market,” the report’s author, RaboResearch senior animal protein analyst Chenjun Pan, said.

These developments saw Chinese consumers double their consumption of meat in less than 30 years, from 35kg per capita in the mid-1990s to 72kg in 2023. However, the report says, in recent years China’s economy has changed gears, with GDP growth slowing significantly..