China’s leading pig producers report profitable first half of 2024

CHINA – China’s top publicly listed pig producers have reported a profitable first half of 2024, with rising pig prices and lower feed costs contributing to improved financial performance.

The 20 largest listed pig companies slaughtered 83.84 million pigs between January and June, representing 23.04% of the national total of 363.95 million pigs. 

Muyuan, Wen’s, and New Hope led in slaughter volume, processing 32.39 million, 14.37 million, and 8.69 million pigs, respectively.

Revenue figures for the first half of the year placed Muyuan at the top, generating US$7.90 billion (¥56.87 billion), followed by New Hope with US$6.89 billion (¥49.58 billion) and Wen’s with US$6.49 billion (¥46.76 billion).

Haid Group posted the highest net profit at US$295.14 million (¥2.13 billion), primarily from its feed business, which saw a strong increase in market share and profitability. 

Wen’s returned to profit, recording US$184.31 million (¥1.33 billion) after a loss of US$651.25 million (¥4.69 billion) in the same period last year. 

Muyuan ranked second in profitability with US$115.14 million (¥829 million), reflecting a nearly 1.5-fold increase from the previous year.

New Hope reported the largest loss among listed companies, but its deficit of US$236.11 million (¥1.70 billion) was an improvement from the US$414.17 million (¥2.98 billion) loss recorded a year earlier. 

Zhengbang Technology also narrowed its losses, reducing its deficit from US$277.22 million (¥1.99 billion) in the first half of 2023 to US$17.64 million (¥127 million) this year.

The increase in pig prices has been a key factor in the improved financial performance of these companies. 

Muyuan’s commercial pig prices rose steadily, reaching US$2.46 per kilogram (¥17.73/kg) in June, a 14.24% increase from the previous month. 

Higher pig prices boosted profits across the industry, with the net profit per head at large-scale breeding farms rising from US$24.17 (¥174) in May to US$74.72 (¥538) in July.

The surge in prices was largely due to a decline in the sow population. 

Since the second quarter, an oversupply of pigs has eased, with the total number of breeding sows at the end of May standing at 39.96 million, down 6.2% from the previous year. 

By July, the figure had slightly increased to 40.41 million but remained 5.4% lower year-on-year.

Sign up HERE to receive our email newsletters with the latest news and insights from Africa and around the world, and follow us on our WhatsApp channel for updates.