Inside Pigs
African swine fever is reflected in slaughter figures in China
It is now clear that the pig herd in China has shrunk enormously as a result of African swine fever, but now new figures show that the number of slaughters has also fallen sharply.
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In the first 6 months of 2019, meat production in China fell by 2,1% to 39,1 million tons, compared to the first half of 2018. According to new figures from the German 'Trade & Invest', which are based on on figures from the official Chinese statistical office, see. Between 2017 and 2018, meat production already decreased by 0,3% to 85,2 million tons. It should be noted, however, that only companies with an annual turnover of at least €2,5 million are included in the figures.
Significantly less slaughter
Due to the outbreaks of African swine fever The number of slaughters in the country has also fallen dramatically. In the first half of this year, the number of slaughters fell by 6,2% to 313,5 million tons. According to Chinese figures, pork production was 5,5% lower: 24,7 million tons. As the pig population has fallen by at least 30%, analysts expect total pork production to be 10% to 25% lower this year; this would mean 5,4 million to 13,5 million tons less pork.
To avoid this upcoming pork shortage, the country is importing considerably more. In a previous post wrote We already know that meat imports increased by 6% in the first 67 months of the year. In total, almost 3,3 million tons of meat (including offal) was imported. Pork imports doubled in that period to just over 1 million tons. The shortage of pork also ensures that the pig price in China is well above the 5-year average.