China wants fewer pigs
By Ella Cao and Lewis Jackson
Reuters News
07 Aug 2025 14:41:06

BEIJING, Aug 7 (Reuters) - China's pig industry representatives will gather next week in Beijing to discuss ways to reduce breeding sow numbers by a million, according to an official notice seen by Reuters, as part of a push to tackle overcapacity and stabilise prices.
Home to half the world's pigs, China's massive hog sector struggles with a supply glut amid weak consumer demand.
Data shows China's sow herd hit 40.43 million head at the end of June, above the normal holding level of 39 million.
Cash hog prices, meanwhile, have tumbled below 14 yuan ($1.95) per kilogram this week. A year earlier, it was around 20 yuan, according to consultancy MySteel.
The upcoming meeting will also focus on curbing "secondary fattening" - a speculative practice aimed at slimming hogs to stabilise prices - and tightening controls on slaughter weights, according to the notice from the China Animal Agriculture Association, the official animal husbandry association.
The story was first reported by Bloomberg News.