China pork prices soar 116pc, to peak in Sept

Pork prices in the mainland jumped 116 percent from a year ago in March, but is likely to peak in September due to the impact of the African swine fever that decimated its herd, an agriculture ministry official said yesterday.

Pork prices were 52.96 yuan (HK$57.99) per kg in the third week of April.

Supply will be under pressure because of a low production base, uncertainty in imports and recovering consumption, said Yang Zhenhai, head of the husbandry bureau under the ministry.

China's sow herd rose 2.8 percent month-on-month by end of March, while the number of piglets increased 7.3 percent, said Yang, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs.

Pork output in January to March fell sharply by 29 percent year-on-year, marking a sixth straight quarter of declines and underlining the extent of the impact from the disease as well as the huge task the sector faces in trying to rebuild.

China has taken measures to buoy pork output and meats supplies to plug the huge protein gap, but curbs to contain the coronavirus - which has confined people to their homes and shuttered businesses including slaughterhouses - have disrupted efforts.

The pork supply situation is expected to improve after July, Yang added, but stronger consumption in the second half will push prices up.

Chinese pork prices hit record levels of 53.79 yuan per kg in October 2019, a three-fold increase from a year earlier, after African swine fever killed millions of pigs in the world's top pork producer. However, prices had been dropping since early February with a pig production recovery and flat demand.

Meanwhile, another major meat company in the United States has closed plants temporarily due to cases of the coronavirus among its employees and concerns of its spread.

JBS USA said it would indefinitely close two plants that process 20,000 hogs a day, which is about 5 percent of the total US daily pork slaughter. The pork production facility that JBS is closing is in Worthington, Minnesota and employs more than 2,000 workers, according to a statement.