Chinese livestock products consumption behavior was analysed for both urban and rural
households using a complete regional consumption dataset. Six livestock product expenditure
share equations were estimated with an extended AIDS model. The results suggest that
Chinese consumers will continue to increase their consumption of livestock products, but
consumption patterns have changed in the 1990s. A large percentage of household livestock
product expenditure is still on pork. However, the shares for beef, dairy products and poultry
consumption will increase substantially. As a consequence the pork expenditure share will be
gradually reduced as incomes grow and diet preferences change in both urban and rural
households. There are significant differences in livestock product consumption preferences
across provinces of China. As a result, studies that omit regional dummy variables in their
demand systems can produce different expenditure and price parameters, which should be
interpreted with caution.