October 25, 2019

China's swine industry begins to recover from the African swine fever spread

Bigger industrial-scale swine farms in the country will be replenishing herds and adding steps to safeguard against another future African swine fever (ASF) spread, reported Bloomberg. 

Qiu Huaji, head of swine infectious diseases at the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences' Harbin Veterinary Research Institute, said the threat of a recurring ASF spread means breeders will need to boost biosecurity, adding that large-scale farms that endured the ASF spread have made plans to expand and increase swine numbers as early as 2020.

He was speaking at an ASF conference attended by 5,000 people held in Zhengzhou, Henan province.

Also at the conference was Muyuan Foodstuff, which expects to raise 1.3 million sows by end 2019 after replenishing its herd and expanding its feed and slaughtering operations. The company has implemented measures to alleviate disease threats in future and is assured ASF will be eliminated from large China farms without the need for a vaccine. The company earned a net income of 1.54 billion yuan (~US$217 million) in the third quarter this year.

New Hope Liuhe, which raises swine and supplies 15 million tonnes of feed to 250,000 customers per year, aims to breed 25 million pigs in 2022. The company's said at the conference that it plans to expand and add animal waste treatment operations.

COFCO Meat and Wens Foodstuff Group, China's biggest swine breeder, said they maintained their sow herd as breeding stock instead of slaughter. Wens Foodsuff will expand operations to accommodate slaughtering 70 million swine a year, about 10% of China's total slaughtered swine.

Lin Guofa, senior analyst at Bric Agriculture group expected swine farms that raise more than 5,000 swine a year to double in 2020. He said a 15kg female piglet for breeding had sold for 5,000 yuan (~US$707) recently. Piglets destined for slaughter were sold at 1,800 (~US$255) yuan.

Roughly half of China's 26 million swine producers raise less than 500 swine. Bao Hongxing, chairman of Twins Group, a major feed producer in China said farms that raise less than 3,000 swine a year may not want to restock, and banks will not approve loans to farms that lack biosecurity measures for future disease outbreaks. Twins Group are buying up these smaller farms to expand.

Domestic prices for pork have doubled in the wake of the ASF outbreak as more than half of swine in China were culled. This resulted in pork prices increasing worldwide as China imported more than 70% more pork in September 2019 compared to the same month last year.

The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) said China's Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs announced guidelines in September 2019 for the restocking of ASF-affected farms. Priority has been given for expansion, with provincial and local governments making production goals and providing land for swine.

- Bloomberg