China's stock of hogs rose 2 percent in November, the first monthly increase in about a year, signaling that favorable policies to boost hog production despite the epidemic of African swine fever have taken effect, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs said on Monday.
The inventory of breeding sows also went up by 4 percent in November, building on an uptick of 0.6 percent in October, the ministry added. Previously, the sow stock had been on a decline for about 19 months.
Hog farms with more than 5,000 pigs are demonstrating a stronger rebound as their inventories for both pigs and sows have increased for three months in a row, he said.
The output of pork feed also increased by nearly 7 percent in November over the previous month, maintaining the upward momentum that began in September, Yang added.
African swine fever, first detected in China last April, has decimated the country's massive hog herds and forced up the prices of pork, the most consumed meat in the country.
In an action plan published on Friday, the ministry pledged to lift the country's hog production capacity to normal levels by 2021.
In the meantime, China is confident in its ability to keep food prices stable with bumper grain harvests, expanding hog production and sufficient supply of other fresh food, an official said on Dec 16.
The country has achieved another year of good harvests in 2019 with its grain output hitting a record high of around 664 million tons, laying a solid foundation for the stability of food prices.
(Source:ourjiangsu.com)
