National pig production recovered steadily in January! How much does pork cost per pound now?

As the epidemic is at a critical stage, breeders across the country are also worried. Recently, the relevant person in charge of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs gave an introduction to the current situation. The national pig production has steadily recovered in January! In what specific aspects is it reflected? What is the current price of pork? Let’s take a look with Feng Chao from Dongguan !

National pig production recovered steadily in January! How much does pork cost per pound now?

National pig production recovered steadily in January

In January, the national sow inventory continued to rise, the number of live pigs slaughtered increased , and pig production recovered steadily, which made a good start in implementing the requirements of the Central Document No. 1 on "accelerating the recovery of pig production and ensuring that pig production capacity basically returns to the level of normal years before the end of 2020." To understand the latest progress of this work, the reporter recently interviewed Yang Zhenhai, Director of the Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Bureau of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs.

The basic production capacity of live pigs continues to recover

Yang Zhenhai introduced that driven by the market and policy incentives, the confidence of pig farmers in increasing breeding and restocking has continued to increase, and the basic pig production capacity has continued to recover. According to data from 400 designated monitoring counties across the country, the number of sows in January increased by 1.2% month-on-month, marking the fourth consecutive month of month-on-month growth and an increase of 8% compared with September last year. The recovery momentum of sow stocks in some major pig-raising provinces is better. Liaoning has seen month-on-month growth for eight consecutive months, Hebei, Shanxi and Heilongjiang have seen month-on-month growth for six consecutive months, and Henan has seen month-on-month growth for five consecutive months. At present, the sow inventory in seven provinces, including Heilongjiang, Jilin, Liaoning, Inner Mongolia, Shaanxi, Gansu and Ningxia, has recovered or even exceeded the level of the same period last year, with one more province than last month.

The production capacity of large-scale pig farms continues to recover

According to statistics, in January, the number of sows in pig farms with an annual output of more than 500 heads increased by 2.2% month-on-month, marking the fifth consecutive month of growth, and the growth rate has been higher than the national average. Yang Zhenhai said that large-scale pig farms have strong biosecurity protection and risk resistance capabilities, and the live pigs they slaughter account for more than half of the total national output, making them the "main force" for production recovery and market supply. According to monitoring data in recent months, large-scale pig farms have been leading the recovery momentum, which is very beneficial to the overall recovery of pig production.

Continue to consolidate the good momentum of pig production recovery

Yang Zhenhai said that the overall trend of pig production recovery is good at present, but problems such as difficulty in obtaining land for pig farming and difficulty in obtaining loans still exist in some places. The new coronavirus epidemic has also brought some adverse effects on pig production in some areas, mainly due to poor transportation of feed, breeding pigs, etc., and the inability to connect farms and slaughterhouses, resulting in pigs being kept in pens. In response to these issues, the State Council's Joint Prevention and Control Mechanism for the Novel Coronavirus Pneumonia Epidemic and relevant departments issued four documents in succession. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs set up a hotline, established a departmental and local coordination and solution mechanism, and implemented it "point-to-point" to effectively help farms and enterprises solve practical difficulties and maintain normal production and marketing order.

Yang Zhenhai introduced that in the next step, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs will, in accordance with the unified deployment of the State Council, decompose and issue the goals and tasks of pig recovery and development to various places, and work with relevant departments to strengthen the supervision and inspection of pig production support policies, promote the expansion of the pilot scope and subsidy scope of mortgage loans, adhere to the principle of giving equal importance to large enterprises and small ones, support large-scale breeding enterprises to connect with 16 poor cities (prefectures) with heavy poverty alleviation tasks, and strive to maintain the good momentum of pig production recovery.

How much does pork cost per pound now?

The current price of pork is mainly related to the region . Taking Beijing as an example, the price of pork is 50 yuan per catty , while in Henan Province, the price of pork is concentrated at around 58 yuan per catty . In some areas affected by the epidemic, the price of pork is as high as 70 yuan per catty . Generally speaking, this situation is an isolated case, and prices across the country are being regulated.

I believe that as the weather gradually warms up in the spring, the epidemic will dissipate and the stable market for pork will return!