Pork Production Recovering

Data released by China Meat Association shows that the numbers of live sows and hogs as a whole have continued to steadily climb up since last October.

Under the dual assault of African swine flu and COVID19, overall meat production in China decreased in the first half of this year over the same period of 2019. The decrease swept across pork, mutton, and beef production during the first quarter; but during the second quarter mutton and beef production reported mild growth and the fall in pork production shrank on a year-on-year basis. By the end of the second quarter, there were 36.29 million fertile sows in China, an increase of 7.3 percent over the first quarter of this year; and the number of live hogs was 339.96 million, up 10.8 percent over the recent nadir at the end of the third quarter of 2019.

While boosting domestic production, China is importing seven kinds of meat from 38 countries and regions around the world. Over the first eight months of this year the imports totaled 6.58 million tons, exceeding the volume for the whole of 2019.

China is the world’s largest meat producer and consumer, producing about one third of the global volume. According to an official of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, due to strong policy incentives and market demand, China’s hog production is recovering faster than expected. By September more than 9,000 newly built large pig farms had started operation, and 11,200 farms which had closed last year reopened. Smaller farmers have also regained confidence in pig raising.