New guidelines for pig production in China

The volatile pig market is a phenomenon worldwide, but in China the fluctuations are extremely high. This is partly because the African swine fever (ASF) has been ravaging the country for some time. Although the supply of pigs is said to be gradually recovering, there are still large fluctuations in supply and prices.

To prevent major fluctuations in the market and ensure a stable pork supply, the Chinese authorities have published detailed guidelines. Over the next 5 to 10 years, the aim is to reduce market fluctuations and increase pork production capacity. The aim is to keep the self-sufficiency rate at approximately 95%.

Sow herd
According to a Chinese official, there were approximately 439 million pigs at the end of June, an increase of 99,4% compared to the end of 2017. The sow herd numbered 45,64 million, up 102%. To put pork production on a solid basis, China aims to keep the sow herd stable at approximately 2021 million heads in the period from 2025 to 43.

According to Reuters, the Ministry of Agriculture reported that the sow herd will not be less than 40 million in the relevant period. If the sow herd changes by more than 2021% in the period from 2025 to 5 compared to the previous year, pig farmers are advised to supplement sows or replace less productive sows.

Sharpen registration
Other ways China plans to stabilize pork production include releasing pork from state reserves. To regulate supply and prices and to tighten registration of animals to control production capacity.

For example, local authorities are urged to register pig farmers with more than 500 animals. Provincial governments can provide subsidies to larger companies if the sow herd decreases by more than 10 compared to the previous year or if the company has been making a loss for more than 3 months in a row.