A woman buys pork at a supermarket in Nanchang, East China's Jiangxi Province, December 22, 2019. Photo: Xinhua

Growing demand for meat in China, combined with a shortfall in domestic supplies, has substantially shot up imports from around the world this year and the high demand for foreign meat is expected to persist next year, in a boon to farmers in many countries.

In the first 11 months of the year, China imported a total of around 5.5 million tons of meat, up a staggering 42 percent year-on-year, data from China's General Administration of Customs showed on Tuesday.

Meat imports particularly skyrocketed in the month of November with an increase of 82 percent year-on-year to 644,000 tons, according to data. Pork imports grew by 151.2 percent year-on-year in the month to 230,000 tons.

Facing a shortage in the supply of pork at home due to the outbreak of African swine fever, China has been on a quest to purchase the main staple from around the world, relaxing import restrictions on pork. Ballooning pork prices have also driven up demand for other meats such as chicken and beef.

"Basically, we have to rely on imports to offset the decline in domestic production," Ma Wenfeng, a senior analyst at the Beijing Orient Agribusiness Consultancy, told the Global Times on Tuesday, noting that there is a still a huge hole to fill. "We could see bigger increases in meat imports next year."