by Lyle L Jones, Director of Sales China

We are back in China this week to participate in the 8th Leman China Swine Conference & 2019 World Swine Industry Expo being held October 19-21, 2019 in Zhengzhou, Henan, China. 

Swine experts from around the world will present the latest in the swine industry and share new developments in Swine Genetics, Pig Breeding, Swine disease prevention and much more. 

Highlights of this year’s conference include in depth coverage of swine production, disease surveillance and control. Many presentations will be centered on ASF and how large scale production can manage and control the disease. It is expected that more than 5,000 participants shall be attending this year’s conference. 

Market Information:

The latest data published by the Ministry of Agriculture of China shows that in September the pig census has dropped by 3% with respect to August and by 41.1% with respect to one year earlier.

The sow census has fallen by 2.8% with respect to August 2019 and by 38.9% in comparison with September 2018.

Both drops (in the pig and sow census) are greater than the ones seen in August, that were by 38.7% and 37.4%, respectively.

Slaughter weights are increasing as pig prices continue to rise. The National Average Slaughter Pig Price is now RMB 35.28/kg ($2.26/lb.) as shown in the graph below:

Thus, a 130kg (286lb.) slaughter pig is selling for a national average of RMB 35.28/kg ($2.26/lb.) in China. That’s RMB 4586 ($647.08) per head market hogs!

Observations:

Since there is a massive shortage of breeding pigs available in China many producers are retaining gilts back from their finishing floors to restock their breeding herds. There will be a significant loss of production efficiency and performance for sure, but this strategy is deemed to be better than empty barns and is keeping many producers in business. 

Sows and pigs inventories continue to fall and market prices rise, but producers in China are adapting to “life with ASF” and implementing new strategies to deal with it. 

Producers in China are very fortunate the Central Government and Provincial Governments are allocating significant resources in support of rebuilding the swine industry. Provincial governments are being given wide latitude in support of efforts in reaching those production targets. ASF is still a menace in China, but the Chinese producers are to be commended for their resilience and perseverance during these challenging times. 

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This post was written by Genesus