(Yicai Global) April 20 -- China’s hog breeders, pushed into the red this year due to plunging pork prices, should start to make money in the third quarter as the glut in the market eases and feed prices come down, an official at the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs said today.

Hog prices began to rebound at the end of last month, after slumping for 16 straight weeks, thanks to more people buying pork and better market regulations, said Yang Zhenhai, head of MARA’s Bureau of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Services. The price of a pig was CNY12.85 (USD2) per kilogram on average yesterday, up 11.6 percent from March 18, the lowest point of the year so far, he added.

A delay in production meant that there were a huge number of pigs up for slaughter in the first three months of the year, a jump of 14.1 percent from a year ago to 195.7 million hogs, causing a glut in the market, according to figures released by the National Bureau of Statistics yesterday.

Hog breeders were working at a loss, losing CNY327 (USD51) per slaughtered animal in March, double what they were losing in February, Yang said. However, they should start to make a profit in the third quarter as the number of newborn piglets fall and feed prices drop, Yang said, adding that there are still uncertainties.

China’s pig numbers returned to normal levels last year, after an outbreak of African swine fever in 2018 and 2019 decimated herds, and as a result the price of pork began to fall.

The ministry is guiding hog farmers to breed in reasonable numbers and urging local governments to help those with business difficulties, Yang said. The ministry is also coordinating the transport of feed and animal by-products to areas blocked by the Covid-19 outbreaks.

Editor: Kim Taylor