China's Hog Population Slumps by a Quarter as Virus Wreaks Havoc

(Bloomberg) -- China’s hog herds, the world’s biggest, shrank the most in June in at least a year with farmers reluctant to replenish numbers while African swine fever rages, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs.

Hog inventory plunged 26% from a year earlier, the largest contraction since the country first reported an outbreak of the deadly virus in August, data from a survey of pig farms in 400 counties showed. The number of breeding sows slumped 27% from a year ago, the data showed.

The spread of African swine fever has cut demand for livestock feed, boosted pork imports and spurred demand for alternative proteins such as chicken and beef. The disease has also spread to neighboring countries such as Vietnam.

The decline in sow breeding capacity, which is gathering speed, could lead to pork shortages over the next two to three years, while domestic pork prices could pick up again in August and hit a record later in the year, according to agriculture consulting firm www.china-data.com.cn.

In the first six months of 2019, the country’s pork output fell 5.5% on year to 24.7 million tons, while poultry production expanded 5.6% and beef output rose 2.4%, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.

To contact Bloomberg News staff for this story: Niu Shuping in Beijing at nshuping@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Anna Kitanaka at akitanaka@bloomberg.net, James Poole

©2019 Bloomberg L.P.

With assistance from Bloomberg