With the Chinese New Year approaching, the pig price rises

The Chinese pork price entered 2021 on the rise and the price increase continued throughout January. On January 20, the pig price was €4,58 per kilo. That is more than €0,30 more than a month earlier. The price has generally risen since the end of November, when the level was still €3,79 per kilo.

Domestic pig herd
On January 20, the average pork price in no fewer than 36 major cities had increased by more than 3% compared to the beginning of the year. The average price is still about 4,6% lower than in the same period last year. At the time, China still had a smaller pig herd, which was largely destroyed by African swine fever (ASF).

China itself says that its domestic pig herd has returned to 90% of pre-AVP levels, but the rising pork price casts some doubt on this. The price increase may also be a result of increased domestic demand for pork. This has to do with the run-up to the Chinese New Year, or the Chinese Spring Festival. Pork is always consumed liberally in China during the holidays.

Pork from stock
To meet the rising demand in the run-up to the most important holiday of the year, China is repeatedly putting pork from stock on the market. Between 20.000 and 30.000 tons of pork are released from state reserves every week. Since December 17, 2020, a total of more than 150.000 tons of pork from stock has been brought onto the market.