Meat (Global Market)

2022

Leading countries in meat consumption per capita

The world leaders in the consumption of various types of meat per capita are Tonga (148 kg/person), Mongolia (132 kg/person), Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (124 kg/person), Hong Kong (123 kg/person) and the USA (123 kg/person). This is evidenced by the data for 2022 of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), which TAdviser got acquainted with in November 2025.

According to FAO research, global leadership in the consumption of different types of meat was distributed as follows:

• Beef: Argentina, with its traditional asado culture, retains absolute primacy at 39.9 kg per person per year; it is followed by Zimbabwe (44.4 kg/person), the USA (38 kg/person), Israel (36.1 kg/person) and Brazil (34.6 kg/person);
• Pork: Croatia, Spain and Montenegro, where pork is the central element of cuisine, show the highest consumption (35.5 kg/person); they are followed by Hong Kong (30.4 kg/person) and Poland (51.6 kg/person), where they also traditionally prefer this type of meat;
• Poultry meat: the leading positions are occupied by the island states - Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (94.1 kg/person), Tonga (90.6 kg/person), (Marshall Islands 74.8 kg/person), (Samoa 74.8 kg/person) - where chicken is an affordable and easily produced source of protein in conditions of limited resources; closes the top five in this position (Israel 70.8 kg/person);
• Lamb and goat meat: Mongolia (68.5 kg/person) with its centuries-old nomadic culture is the absolute leader in this category; harsh climate and poor soils make lamb and goat consumption the basis of the diet in Bahrain (23.4 kg/person), New Caledonia (21.9 kg/person), Turkmenistan (20.3 kg/person), Chad (19.0 kg/person).

These data confirm the dependence of food habits on cultural and economic factors in different regions of the world.

According to FAO monitoring, over the period 1990-2009, the world's meat consumption increased by almost 60%, and the per capita rate increased by about 25%. Positive dynamics remains: in 2025, global consumption of meat products reached 453 million tons^[1]

Growth in meat production by 2.9% to 274.3 million tons

According to the USDA estimate, global meat production reached 274.3 million tons in 2022, up 2.9% from a year earlier. The 2022 figure is a record for 2017-2022. and exceeds production in 2017 by 6.1%. At the same time, in 2021, the market showed higher growth rates (+ 5.5%). This study was published in August 2023.

It follows from it that pork is in first place in the structure of world meat production. In 2022, according to the USDA, its production volumes are estimated at 113.8 million tons, which is 5.7% higher than 2021. Outbreaks of African swine fever in 2019-2020. had a huge impact on the volume of pork production and consumption in the world. In 2019, the world leader - China produced 11.5 million tons of pork less than in 2018, and in 2020 the volume of Chinese production decreased by another 6.2 million tons.

Over the past six years, poultry meat has shown the most stable growth rates of production, the volumes of which in 2022 are estimated at 101.1 million tons, which is 0.6% higher than the result of a year ago, according to a report published in August 2023.

Global beef production is generally showing positive dynamics. A decrease in production due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic was observed only in 2020. In 2022, production volumes are estimated at 59.4 million tons, which is 1.7% higher than in the previous year.

The world leader in beef production is the United States. USDA analysts estimated that in 2022, beef production in the United States amounted to 12.9 million tons, which is 1.3% higher than in 2021.

The second place in the structure of world beef production is occupied by Brazil. In 2022, the volume of production in this country is estimated at 10.4 million tons, which is 6.2% higher than the volume of 2021.

Beef Market Research - Agroexport

2019

Most consumed meats in Asian countries

Data for 2019

The most consumed types of meat in European countries

Data for 2019