Half of Chinese Hogs Gone; ASF Wrecking Chinese Industry

(WASHINGTON, DC) A Chinese Agriculture Ministry official confirmed what many analysts believe to be the case last week. Just over one year ago, China confirmed its first instance of African Swine Fever (ASF). To date, ASF has now affected every Chinese province and has also spread to neighboring countries: Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Mongolia and North Korea. The ministry said the number of sows declined by 31.9 percent in July. ASF is fatal to pigs but does not harm people. Reuters reports that swine fever has hit the world’s top pork-producing nation hard, roiling its vast agribusiness sector and reshaping the global meat trade. Not only has swine fever hit the hog market, but demand for hog feed – soybeans – has plummeted, as evidence by USDA’s Weekly Export Sales Report.