China's pork output at 16-years low
Last year, China has recorded the lowest pork output since 2003, 42.55 million tonnes (down 21.3% from 2018), according to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). The African swine fever has reduced the pig inventory in the country by more than 40%, according to official data, although there are voices in the industry that claims the decline is far larger.
The NBS also reported that the number of slaughtered hogs last year fell 21.6% to 544.19 million head. Total meat output including pork, beef, lamb and poultry fell 10.2% in 2019 to 76.49 million tonnes, reports Reuters. Beef output rose 3.6% to 6.67 million tonnes while poultry output jumped 12.3% to 22.39 million tonnes. China has increased meat imports in the last three quarters of 2019, reaching a level "never seen before in history", according to Meat and Livestock Australia. Pork prices have doubled and the central government was forced to release frozen meat from its reserves to stabilize the market. Rabobank forecast in November that China’s pork production would shrink by 25% in 2019 to about 40.5 million tonnes, and a further 10% to 15% in 2020.
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