IN THE YEAR OF THE PIG: China planning to KILL 128 MILLION PIGS in order to contain disease
In the 'Year of the Pig', the latest Chinese government predictions point to a culling of pigs equivalent to the entire European Union’s annual supply.
BLOOMBERG NEWS: ‘An infectious disease has killed tens of thousands of pigs in China, which raises about half the world’s hogs. Worse still, stopping its spread has resulted in the culling of millions more, including breeding sows and piglets… “Some farms slaughtered their entire herds and gave up breeding for fear of infection,” said farmer Dou Xingyong. In some cases, farms were prohibited from raising pigs because of stricter waste-treatment requirements, he said…
African swine fever has continued to spread, albeit at a slower pace than at the end of 2018. The Tibet and Xinjiang regions, where pork isn’t widely consumed, confirmed outbreaks in early April, highlighting what Han Changfu, China’s minister of agriculture and rural affairs, described Monday as a “complicated and grim situation” in arresting the virus…
Latest government predictions point to a loss of swine this year equivalent to the European Union’s annual supply. Zhao, 67, doesn’t see affected farms recovering anytime soon… According to Ma Chuang, deputy secretary general with Chinese Association of Animal Science and Veterinary Medicine. He estimates the total hog population may drop by as much as 30 percent in the “year of the pig” from 2018 — a loss of about 128 million head…
“The global market won’t have enough pork to supply China,” Ma said Tuesday in an interview in Beijing. “The deficit won’t be filled even with poultry or other meats.” African swine fever may prompt a dietary shift to alternative protein-rich foods, such as eggs and dairy, Ma said. Meat prices, including chicken, beef and seafood, are likely to rise because of a global shortage caused by China’s outbreaks, according to Rabobank’. SOURCE…
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