plate 085 · Food · 2025 data

China buys three in ten of the world's beef imports

Beef and veal imports by country, thousand tonnes carcass weight, 2025 vs 2022.

30.6%

China imported 3.66 Mt of the world's 11.95 Mt of beef imports in 2025.

More than US + Japan

China bought more beef abroad than the next two importers combined (3.14 Mt).

+59%

US imports jumped from 1.54 Mt in 2022 to 2.44 Mt in 2025, the fastest rise among big buyers.

Source USDA Foreign Agricultural Service, Livestock and Poultry: World Markets and Trade (October 2026), Beef and Veal Trade table ·Data 2025 ·Fact
the numbers
China buys three in ten of the world's beef imports. Source: USDA Foreign Agricultural Service, Livestock and Poultry: World Markets and Trade (October 2026), Beef and Veal Trade table, 2025.
Imports (kt)2022 (grey bar) (kt)Share of world (%)2022 (grey bar) (%)
China3,6573,50130.634.2
United States2,4441,53820.515.0
Japan6957775.87.6
South Korea5865954.95.8
European Union4623723.93.6
United Kingdom3964003.33.9
Chile3563493.03.4
Russia3302952.82.9
Canada3142142.62.1
Philippines2822562.42.5
Egypt2652702.22.6
source notes & method

Carcass weight equivalent. Shares are progrss calculations from USDA's world import total (11,945 kt in 2025; 10,227 kt in 2022). USDA counts China excluding Hong Kong; EU external trade only. USDA forecasts China at 3.60 Mt in 2026 and notes a new Chinese tariff-rate quota on beef imports. Saudi Arabia is not listed separately by USDA.

Published 3 Nov 2026

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