China’s Hog Herds Plunge More Than 40%, But Worst May Be Over

(Bloomberg) -- The number of hogs in China, the world’s top producer and consumer of pork, plunged more than 40% in October from a year earlier because of African swine fever, but there are signs that the pace of decline is slowing, according to government data published Friday.

While the slump in hog inventories was little changed from September on a year-on-year basis, the decrease shrank to 0.6% from 3% when measured month-on-month, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs. The population of breeding sows increased 0.6% from September, but was still down 38% from a year earlier. The deadly hog virus has spread from Africa to Europe and Asia, and there isn’t enough pork in the world to fill China’s deficit.

China’s wholesale pork prices fell for a third week from a record in the five days to Nov. 22, and posted the biggest weekly drop in years. The decline was due to rising imports and more supplies of frozen pork from stockpiles, Gao Feng, Commerce Ministry spokesman told a press conference Thursday. China will expand meat imports from more countries, and release state reserves to ensure supplies ahead of traditional holidays, said Gao. China’s overseas meat purchases may exceed 6 million tons this year, said Gao.

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

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