Culling prompted by low hog prices in China pushed up pork production last fall, setting a record annual production of 57.94 million tonnes.
That’s 4.6 per cent more than 2022.
China was still recovering from disastrous outbreaks of African Swine Fever that wiped out between a quarter and a half of hogs several years ago. It also prompted a major restructuring of hog production which is now led by large corporations.
In the fourth quarter, production reached 14.93 million tons, seven per cent more than the same quarter the year before.
Major hog breeders, including Muyuan Foods Co. and Wen's Foodstuff Group Co, reported increased hog sales in December, with Muyuan selling 6.6 million hogs, an increase of 25 per cent from November.
