A staff member cleans a pigsty at Jinchuan pig farm of Jiangxi Zhengbang breeding Co. Ltd. in Xingan County, east China's Jiangxi Province. Photo: Xinhua

China's pork supply in the upcoming peak season will remain relatively tight since the rebounding hog stock still needs time to fully restore its market supply capacity, Chinese officials said on Tuesday, noting the nation will increase releasing pork reserves and expanding import to fill the supply gap for the upcoming holidays.

Hog production across China showed signs of rebounding in November, with both hog stock and sow stock recording positive growth, easing the contradiction between supply and demand of pork compared to October, Wang Junxun, an official of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, said at a press conference on Tuesday.

China's hog stock increased 2 percent month-on-month in November, marking the first rebound since last November. The sales of replacement gilts also surged 25.9 percent month-on-month and 135 percent year-on-year in November, indicating a rise in farmers' confidence, Wang said at the conference.

However, it still needs about half a year for the recovering hog stock to fully form supply capacity due to the restrictions of the natural growth of pigs, Wang said, noting that the supply in the imminent peak season - the upcoming Spring Festival in January - would still remain tight.

In order to ensure the supply in the near peak season, China will increase the release of frozen pork from the central reserve at the appropriate time according to the market situation, Meng Wei, spokesperson of the National Development and Reform Commission said on Tuesday.

In addition, import of pork and other meat, such as beef, will also be expanded to increase supply during the holidays, Meng said.

China has become the UK's largest pork importer with an import of over 45,000 tons of pork in the first eight months of 2019, which is twice the total figure in 2018, according to media reports.

Global Times