Shandong’s pig stocks dropping as deadly African swine fever hits China’s pork supply, drives up prices
- Live pig stocks in February fell by 23.2 per cent against the same month last year and 18.8 per cent from July in one of China’s largest pig farming hubs
- As of last week, a total of 114 cases of African swine fever have been reported across China since August, resulting in the cull of over 950,000 pigs
One of China’s largest pig farming hubs is suffering from a drastic drop in breeding stock that would weigh further on the country’s declining supply and drive up pork prices as more regions battle the deadly African swine fever raging across the country.
Live hog and breeding pig stocks are severely shrinking in Shandong province, one of China’s richest regions, sending prices soaring, warned the provincial animal husbandry and veterinary bureau in a statement released on its official website on Wednesday.
According to the monthly monitoring data covering more than 1,100 large-scale farms across the province, live pig stocks in February fell by 23.2 per cent against the same month last year and 18.8 per cent from July, while stock of breeding swine in the 33 main large-scale breeders fell 41.2 per cent last month, compared with July.
The data also showed both output and sales of pig feed have continued to decline since October, with the decline gathering pace last month when output tumbled by nearly 33 per cent from the same month last year.
The industry’s dismal outlook is most likely to push prices higher and trigger inflationary pressure for pork, a Chinese staple, in the world’s largest pork market.