Meat consumption in China: at-home consumption

The remarkable economic changes occurring within the People’s Republic of China since 1978 have resulted in striking alteration in food consumption patterns, and one marked change is the increasing meat consumption. Given China’s large population, a small percentage change in per capita meat consumption could lead to a dramatic impact on the production and trade of agricultural products. Such changes have major implications for policy makers and food marketers. This paper concentrates on meat consumption patterns in the home in China. A censored linear approximate Almost Ideal Demand System (LA–AIDS) model was employed in the study, and major economic parameters were estimated for different meat items. Data used in this study were collected from two separate consumer surveys- one urban and one rural in 2005.