BEIJING:A surge in hog disease outbreaks this winter in China, the world's biggest pork producer, will slow the industry's rapid recovery since the African swine fever contagion three years ago, according to industry participants and analysts.
China's pig herd rose 31% in 2020, according to official data, as the industry rebuilt. But more frequent outbreaks of swine fever are occurring in northeast and northern provinces along with a worse-than-usual rise in Porcine epidemic diarrhoea (PED), said a manager at a pig farm supply company.
"The disease challenge right now is bad," said the manager, who declined to be identified because he is not allowed to talk to media.
The government reports little data on disease outbreaks on Chinese farms but analysts and industry participants note a surge in outbreaks of various diseases. As the world's biggest pork consumer, Beijing is under pressure to restore its hog supply and lower meat prices that remain at high levels, pushing up inflation and drawing in record imports.
"(African swine fever) never stopped but recently there's been even more, and more other disease," said Pan Chenjun, senior analyst at Rabobank in Beijing, referring to outbreaks of foot-and-mouth disease and PED.
"The high price in December was at least partly driven by disease," she said, as well as rising demand ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday.
That month, live hog prices in northeastern China's Shandong province, a major pork producer, rose to 36 yuan ($5.57) per kg, the highest since August and about three times prices before African swine fever arrived in 2018.
PED is not usually fatal to grown pigs but can kill piglets. It is also more likely to infect young sows without immunity to it, said a veterinarian with a pig producer in southern China currently dealing with PED outbreaks.
That has increased the intensity of this winter's outbreak because so many new farms, built to replace the swine fever-reduced herds, are stocked with young females that have passed the virus to their offspring, he said.
"It can kill one month of suckling pigs just like that," he said.
VACCINE VIRUS
New strains of swine fever, likely caused by use of unapproved vaccines, are causing a chronic but difficult-to-detect form of the disease.
This "vaccine virus" and a higher density of pigs this year is also contributing to more African swine fever cases, said Shandong-based Yongyi Consulting in a note last week.
"This time last year it was mostly in the north, while this year the impact of the vaccine virus problem is unusually common in the south. The whole country's production capacity was damaged in January," said Yongyi.
The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs did not respond to a request for comment on an increase in disease recently.
China unusually reported a swine fever case in the southern province of Guangdong province in January, the first confirmed case on a farm since June.
In December, Beijing said its pig and sow herds would fully recover by the first half of 2021 and in November had reached more than 90% of their levels prior to the first swine fever outbreaks.
But rising piglet prices suggests there is a growing shortage, which will hit pork output later this year.
Prices for 6-kg pigs in Shandong have risen from 750 yuan in October to around 1,200 yuan ($185.79) this month, said a manager with a Shandong-based producer who declined to be identified.
Prices reached 1,400 yuan in Jiangsu, a southern province.
"Why is there so much demand? A lot of half-finished pigs went to packing plants because of disease," he said.
Data compiled by Yongyi shows that 17% of pigs sent to slaughter last week were under 90 kg, below the typical 120 to 140 kg.
"Currently farmers are panic slaughtering and concentrated selling is common," Yongyi said.
Reuters
Wed Feb 03 2021
More frequent outbreaks of swine fever are occurring in northeast and northern provinces along with a worse-than-usual rise in Porcine epidemic diarrhoea. REUTERS file pic
EPL: Man United sama hebat dengan skuad tercorot liga
Penjaga gol Manchester United, Andre Onana menjadi punca buat pasukannya kehilangan kemenangan menentang Burnley.
Pedofilia MRSM Tumpat: Polis selesai panggil 14 individu
Polis selesai memanggil 14 individu untuk dirakam keterangan berhubung kes pedofilia melibatkan seorang guru di Maktab Rendah Sains Mara (MRSM) di Tumpat.
PRK Kuala Kubu Baharu: Pengundi tentukan kemenangan, bukan Tun M - Azmin
Kemenangan DAP dalam PRK Kuala Kubu Baharu hanya akan ditentukan oleh pengundi dan bukannya bekas Perdana Menteri, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
PRK Kuala Kubu Baharu: Calon PN sah miliki Sarjana Eksekutif UMPSA
Calon Perikatan Nasional (PN), Khairul Azhari Saut, 54, disahkan memiliki Sarjana Eksekutif Pengurusan Perniagaan dari Universiti Malaysia Pahang Al-Sultan Abdullah (UMPSA).
PRK Kuala Kubu Baharu: Calon PN tunjuk bukti kelayakan akademik
Calon Perikatan Nasional (PN) bagi Pilihan Raya Kecil (PRK) Kuala Kubu Baharu, Khairul Azhari Saut menunjukkan bukti berkaitan kelayakan akademiknya bagi menjawab isu berkenaan.
Enakmen kawalan hiburan baharu, Kelantan yakin tidak bercanggah
Kerajaan Kelantan yakin proses penggubalan Enakmen Kawalan Hiburan baharu Kelantan yang akan dibentang pada sidang Dewan Undangan Negeri (DUN) selepas ini tidak bercanggah dengan aturan sedia ada.
Misi teroka peluang ekonomi, tarik pelaburan baharu di WEF - PM
Delegasi Malaysia akan berkongsi dasar dan hala tuju negara di samping mempertegas pendirian negara dalam isu geopolitik serantau di hadapan pemimpin dunia.
JBPM Terengganu berdepan kesukaran padam kebakaran
JBPM Terengganu menghadapi kesukaran memadamkan kebakaran di Kampung Sungai Ikan Kuala Nerus yang melibatkan lebih 75% tapak pelupusan sampah
Polis jangka laporan baharu selepas berkas guru tahfiz
Polis Kelantan menjangkakan lebih banyak laporan polis berkenaan pencabulan di sebuah pusat tahfiz di Machang selepas penahanan seorang guru.
Polis Jerman rampas 4 kereta Bugatti Veyron edisi terhad yang dikaitkan dengan 1MDB
Kenderaan berkenaan dikatakan sebahagian daripada siri "Legenda" khas Bugatti Veyron, dengan hanya 18 daripada supercar tersebut dibina dalam enam spesifikasi.
Pahang rancang wujudkan zon perindustrian di setiap daerah
Kerajaan Pahang rancang wujudkan zon perindustrian di kesemua 11 daerah di negeri ini bagi menggalakkan kemasukan lebih banyak pelaburan asing khususnya dari China.
Amerika Syarikat mungkin haramkan firma dron China, DJI
Amerika Syarikat kini turut sedang pertimbangkan DJI sebagai ancaman sekuriti, dan mungkin melakukan perundangan untuk mengharamkan DJI.
Kru Shenzhou-18 berjaya masuk stesen angkasa Tiangong
Kru Shenzhou-18 China berjaya memasuki stesen angkasa Tiangong selepas kapal angkasa yang dinaiki mereka bercantum dengan kombinasi stesen angkasa secara automatik pada 5.04 pagi Jumaat.
MAQIS tahan dua ekor anjing dari China, identiti mengelirukan
Pemeriksaan mendapati nombor mikrocip yang diimbas pada badan anjing tidak sepadan dengan nombor mikrocip yang diikrar dalam permit import.
Malaysia muncul destinasi utama pengembangan perniagaan di ASEAN - Kajian UOB
Malaysia telah muncul sebagai negara paling penting dalam ASEAN untuk diceburi perniagaan, seperti yang ditunjukkan oleh Kajian Tinjauan Perniagaan UOB 2024 (PKS & Perusahaan Besar).
Industri hiburan penghubung antara Malaysia dan China - Shila Amzah
Shila Amzah percaya bahawa industri hiburan mempunyai pengaruh yang besar dan memainkan peranan penting dalam memupuk hubungan diplomatik Malaysia-China.
TPM mahu lebih ramai anak muda Sabah diberi pendidikan TVET
Beliau ditawarkan oleh China untuk menghantar 2,000 pelajar Malaysia bagi mengikuti program TVET dengan biasiswa penuh ke negara itu.
Perang dicetuskan blok Barat untuk terus kekal berkuasa - Penganalisis
Kemunculan kuasa-kuasa besar baharu seperti China yang mempunyai kekuatan ekonomi sangat tidak dijangka oleh Barat.
Harga minyak diunjur naik akibat konflik Iran-Israel
Harga minyak mentah Brent diunjur melonjak sehingga AS$95 setong berbanding sekitar AS$90 setong ketika ini berdasarkan jangkaan senario terburuk daripada konflik Iran-Israel.
Piala Uber: Tiada istilah mengalah buat Mei Xing
Pemain itu bagaimanapun mengakui sedikit terbeban dengan ketiadaan pasangan utama negara Pearly Tan-M Thinaah dalam kejohanan berkenaan.