Expansion pushes Chinese pig price

The Chinese pig herd grew by 4,7% last month compared to the previous month. In one year, the number of pigs has increased by 31,3%. No exact animal numbers are linked to the impressive growth rates. The number of sows grew by 3,5% in August and has even grown by 37% in recent months. In August, 26 million piglets were born, the ministry reported. Compared to the low point in January, this is an increase of no less than 59,5%.

Many new companies
The growth is a combination of several factors. For example, African swine fever is better under control because companies apply better prevention measures. Existing companies are scaling up production and many new pig companies are opening their doors. Last month, 2.030 companies with more than 500 pigs started pig production. Since January, China has 11.123 new pig farms. The number of 'large companies' has increased to 171.000. Despite the strong growth figures, China is still struggling with meat shortages.

Pig price is losing ground
This shortage is reflected in the high pig and piglet prices. The average Chinese pig price is 34,76 yuan per kilo live weight. This equates to €4,35. More than a month ago, the pig price was still above 37 yuan per kilo, indicating a downward trend prompted by the increasing supply. This is also evident from the slaughter figures, which have shown an upward trend in recent months. For the time being, the pig price in China provides an incentive to increase production, as the cost price is approximately 14 to 15 yuan per kilo.

European export
Despite this increase, European meat companies can still benefit from the skyrocketing Chinese meat demand, which is reflected in the good export figures every month. In addition to the fact that pig production in China is growing, meat consumption is also picking up again. During the lockdown, less was consumed outside the home in China, but demand is picking up again, Chinese media report.

Vion received the green light from the Netherlands at the end of last week to resume exports. This happened after an interruption of a few weeks due to the corona outbreak this summer among slaughterhouse staff. German slaughterhouses have been denied exports now that African swine fever has been diagnosed there Rabobank's expectations that China will allow German pork imports again.