Number of pig slaughters in China under 700 million

It is known that a lot of pigs are slaughtered in China every year. Many pigs were also slaughtered in 2018, but there were a lot fewer than in 2017. The production of cattle and poultry meat does show an increase.

Official Chinese statistics show that the number of pig slaughters decreased by 1,2% last year to 693,82 million. This puts the slaughter figure below the 700 million mark. Pork production decreased by 0,9% to 54,04 million tons. In record year 2014, production amounted to 56,7 million tons.

Although the numbers show a decline, pork production in China accounts for about half of the global total. Based on a recent count of the pig herd, a further decline is expected. Without giving exact numbers, the Chinese ministry reported that the pig herd has decreased by 5% and the number of sows has decreased by 8%. One reason for this is the outbreak of African swine fever.

More dairy cows slaughtered
While pork production has fallen, beef production did increase last year. Production grew 1,5% to 6,44 million tons, the highest level in nearly 20 years. The reason for this is the stopper wave in the Chinese Dairy Farm, mainly as a result of low milk prices. The production of poultry meat increased by 0,6% last year to 19,94 million tons.

Wouter Job

Wouter Baan is editor-in-chief of Boerenbusiness. He also focuses on dairy, pig and meat markets. He also follows (business) developments within agribusiness and interviews CEOs and policymakers.

w.baan@boerenbusiness. Nl

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