A new wave of African swine fever outbreaks in China this year has led to a greater-than-expected loss of at least 20% of breeding stock in the northern pig industry, with the southern pig industry likely to be further hit, Reuters disclosed, citing industry sources.
Reports indicate that the outbreak of African swine fever in August 2018 had caused the Chinese pig industry to lose half of its pig stock in a year. But after more than a year of silence due to a cold winter, higher pig densities and the emergence of a new strain of swine fever, African swine fever returned in the first quarter of this year in northeastern and northern China, as well as in Henan province.
The report cited sources in the futures trading and feed production industries as disclosing that “at least 20% of the stock in the northern and northeastern provinces of China was affected, and possibly 25%”. In Henan, China’s third-largest pig province, the number of breeding sows lost reached about 20-30 percent. This situation has hit the Chinese pig industry hard, which is still in recovery mode.
Industry sources said that China’s swine fever last year was officially attributed to rainfall and flooding, among other reasons, and with the rainy season approaching, farmers in southern China are on high alert for the outbreak.
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