China's pork production in Q1 / 20 decreased 29.1% to 10.38 million tons over the same period last year, according to official figures from the world's largest pork producer. The influence of the animal disease ASF (African swine fever) can still be clearly felt.
In 2019, pork production in China fell to a 16-year low at 42.6 million tons. In 2018, the animal epidemic broke out there, which is always fatal for pigs infected with the virus. Independent experts estimate that the Chinese national pig population shrank by 60%. In the meantime, the farmers there are trying to rebuild their livestock, but in the corona crisis this is only insufficient.
Slaughterhouses were closed in many places in February because the staff remained at home for fear of contracting the coronavirus. In March, however, the Chinese economy started up again and farmers delivered overweight pigs for slaughter. However, pork prices remained 116% higher than in the previous year, pushing up inflation in China.
The Chinese Bureau of Statistics reports that at the end of Q1 / 20 the pig population had dropped 14.4% below the previous year to 321.2 million animals. But that is more than the 310.41 million animals that were reported at the end of December. The sow population is said to be 33.81 million animals. 131.29 million animals were slaughtered in Q1 / 20 (-30.3% too, previous year).
The government in Beijing is trying to stabilize pork prices by putting state stocks on the market. That was almost 300,000 tons this year. Pork imports reached new record levels in the past few months. Almost 1 million tons of pork were imported in Q1 / 20, almost twice as much as in Q1 / 19.
Source
Hansa Terminhandel GmbH
