April 29, 2024

China's pork output fell 0.4% in Q1 as pig production gets back to high levels

China's pig production capacity has returned to high levels, according to the country's  Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs.

Of late, prices of hogs have rebounded for five consecutive weeks, and farming losses have been reduced. However, China's pork production in the first quarter of 2024 was 15.83 million tonnes, a year-on-year decrease of 0.4%.

Based the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development's monitoring, the national average price of hogs was ¥15.4 (US$2.13) per kilogramme in the second week of April, up 5.3% year-on-year.

In March, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development issued a plan to control hog production capacity, adjusting the target number of sows from 41 million head to 39 million head.

At the end of March, the national breeding sow inventory was 39.92 million, down 7.3% year-on-year, equivalent to 102.4% of the target of 39 million.

The number of newborn piglets decreased from October 2023 until March 2024. This is a year-on-year drop of 4.9% for the period. The ministry expects that with the downward trend in the number of newborn piglets, second-quarter pig market supply and demand will further improve and pig farming may see a return to profitability.

At the end of March, the inventory of pigs to be slaughtered in two months on large-scale farms nationwide decreased by 3% year-on-year. This indicates that the number of hogs to be marketed in the second quarter will decrease.

- Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs (China)