China end-September hog numbers up 6.6 percent; January-September milk output up 11 percent

China's hog population totalled 456 million by the end of the third quarter, up 6.6 percent from a year ago, the Ministry of Agriculture said late Wednesday (December 3).

Pork output in the first three quarters rose 5.7 percent on year to 31.96 million tonnes, while egg output rose 5.4 percent to 19.92 million tonnes, it said in a statement published on its Web site.

Despite the controversy surrounding melamine contamination of milk and eggs, which occurred during the third quarter, milk output for the first nine months rose 11 percent, while the number of cattle was up 10 percent on year by end-September, it said. The ministry didn't provide figures nor did it explain the rise.