China’s pork production is showing signs of recovery as the inventory of breeding sows registered the first month-on-month increase in October since the outbreak of deadly African swine fever last year, official data showed, reported Caixin.
The country’s stock of breeding sows rose 0.6% in October from the previous month, the first growth since April 2018, Yang Zhenhai, chief of the animal husbandry and veterinary medicine bureau under China’s Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, said at a news conference on Friday.
At the same time, the overall stock of pigs fell 0.6% month-on-month in October, with the decline slowing from declines of 3% in September and 9.8% in August, said Yang.
Since the first case of African swine fever was reported in China in August 2018, the devastating disease has wiped out a significant portion of the country’s hogs and caused severe pork supply shortages and soaring prices. Industry analysts expect the country’s pork production will drop as much as 40% this year.