Pork imports from China set to rise amid questions over hog herd size

Pork is by far China's favorite meat and rising prices have fueled inflation in the world's second-largest economy at a time of slowing growth. The country produces about half of the world's production and fluctuations influence pork and meat prices globally. Chinese pork prices rose 51.8% year-on-year in October, the National Bureau of Statistics said, even as third-quarter production rose 0.7% year-on-year. Pork prices will remain high in 2023 due to lower supply, according to 10 industry analysts, farmers and feed and genetics suppliers, although they warned that demand could be affected by China's COVID measures. "We all need to watch China; we expect an increase in sales due to the pork deficit," Jim Long, chief executive of Genesus Inc of Canada, a supplier of breeding pigs to China, said in a note last week. JCI-HOG-LUOHE live hog prices rose by about 78% from June to 28.50 yuan ($3.98) per kg on Oct. 19, the highest since March 2021, according to data from Shanghai JC ...