Use of illegal African swine fever vaccines by some Chinese hog producers last year reduced output of hogs and will support prices in 2021, an executive
from leading pork processor WH Group said on Tuesday, spurring growth in imports of cheaper meats, Reuters reports.
China has been trying to rebuild its massive hog herd since the deadly African swine fever virus ravaged farms during 2018 and 2019.
But use of unapproved vaccines in a bid to protect against the disease had the opposite effect and ended up killing pigs, said Ma Xiangjie, president of Henan Shuanghui Investment and Development, WH Group's domestic unit.
Pig prices increased significantly at the end of 2020, as supplies tightened, Ma told reporters after the company released annual earnings, defying expectations of growing hog output.
"Since the second half of last year some pig producers in China, especially south of the Yangtze river, used some immature pig vaccines and caught African swine fever again," said Ma.
WH processed 46 percent fewer hogs in China in 2020 compared with 2019 because of tight supply, reducing capacity use at its plants to 30 percent.
But imports of 700,000 tons of pork, poultry and beef, including 70 percent from the United States, helped it make up the shortfall and generate record revenues and profits in its home market.
The company has raised its forecast on Chinese pig prices this year due to the impact of "toxic vaccines", added Ma, though prices will still be on average lower than in 2020.
Workers sort cuts of fresh pork in a processing plant of pork producer WH Group in Zhengzhou, Henan province China, November 24, 2017.
