October 19, 2023

     

Record for China's pork production in Q3 2023

 

 

China's pork output in the third quarter rose 4.8% from a year ago to 12.69 million metric tonnes, the highest for the quarter in at least a decade, Reuters calculations based on official data showed, as farmers raised more pigs for holiday consumption.

 

Third-quarter pork production in China, which consumes half of the world's pork, is typically about 12 million tonnes, and last came close to this year's level in 2014 when it reached 12.67 million tonnes.

 

Chinese breeders expanded production in recent years. The domestic herd of breeding females was still higher than a year ago until July, when it began to shrink, agriculture ministry data showed.

 

Producers have kept larger herds this year, expecting a stronger economic recovery to lift meat demand, but consumption has been disappointing.

 

China's pork output in the first nine months of the year rose 3.6% from a year earlier to 43.01 million tonnes, data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed on October 18.

 

The national pig herd rose to 442.29 million pigs in the third quarter from 435.17 million in the previous quarter, according to the data.

 

Farmers also fattened their pigs to during the third quarter to make more money, increasing the pork supply, said Rosa Wang, analyst at Shanghai JC Intelligence Co Ltd.

 

"The pig margin was positive in August and September, so pig farmers chose to fatten pigs or even bought pigs of 90kg or 100kg and fattened them to a higher weight to make money," she said.

 

Margins have since fallen, however, along with declining prices.

 

Hog futures DLHcv1 have declined 4.5% in October, down for a third consecutive month, due to excess supply.

 

- Reuters