CLARA CHARTS: China Beef Production Up 2518% Since 1975
From 2000 to 2024, beef production grew by an additional 52%, reaching an all-time high of 17.2 billion pounds...
📈 China Beef Production 📈
2025 (p) – 17,151,943,600 lbs
2024 – 17,196,036,000 lbs -- record high
2023 – 16,600,788,600 lbs
2022 – 15,829,171,600 lbs
2021 – 15,388,247,600 lbs
2020 – 14,815,046,400 lbs
2019 – 14,704,815,400 lbs
China’s beef production has seen a remarkable transformation over the last five decades. In 1975, production stood at just 657 million pounds, and it would take another ten years—until 1985—to surpass the 1 billion pound threshold. However, the pace of growth dramatically accelerated heading into the 21st century. By 2000, China's beef production had surged to 11.3 billion pounds, marking a more than 1,620% increase from 1975. This leap was driven by economic liberalization, rising incomes, and evolving dietary preferences among China’s growing middle class.
The upward trend didn’t stop there. From 2000 to 2024, beef production grew by an additional 52%, reaching an all-time high of 17.2 billion pounds. This reflects China’s continued push to expand domestic protein production through modernization of livestock operations, increased feedlot development, and government investment in food security. The long-term growth—from 657 million to 17.2 billion pounds—represents a staggering 2,518% increase since 1975, positioning China as a major player in global beef supply despite still relying on imports to meet demand. The scale and speed of this expansion highlight the country’s shifting agricultural priorities and the role beef now plays in China's food economy.
About CLARA: The Ultimate Cattle Market Intelligence System
CLARA was created to manage the massive influx of cattle market data, processing thousands of daily sales, hundreds of market reports, and the latest industry news from National Beef Wire. Designed for real-time market tracking, CLARA delivers insights through key features like Cattle Barometer, which gauges market sentiment, CLARA LIVE, offering instant auction reporting, ASK CLARA, providing expert analysis on demand, and CLARA CHARTS, visualizing key market trends. By streamlining data and delivering actionable insights, CLARA ensures producers, buyers, and analysts stay ahead in the fast-moving cattle industry.