China presses pig farmers to cut production as pork glut deepens

CHINA – China has called in its largest pig producers for talks in Beijing as authorities push to curb herd sizes, ease oversupply and stabilise falling pork prices.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs invited 25 leading farms, including Muyuan Foods Co. and Wens Foodstuff Group Co., to discuss production cuts and submit specific strategies for the coming year.

Farmers have been instructed to outline their sow reduction targets before January and to file detailed production plans for 2026, according to the ministry’s livestock office.

This meeting, held on September 16, was also attended by representatives from the National Development and Reform Commission, signalling that the issue has gained attention at the highest levels of economic planning.

The push comes after domestic pig prices dropped by nearly 25 percent this year, with wholesale pork prices falling by around 12 percent over the last two years as consumer demand weakens in a slowing economy.

Investors responded quickly to the news, with shares of Muyuan jumping as much as 7.5 percent and Wens climbing up to 6.6 percent after reports of the government-led talks surfaced in local media.

European exporters face tariffs

The move in China follows a separate decision to impose provisional anti-dumping tariffs on pork imports from the European Union, adding further pressure to the global pork market.

Tariffs of up to 62.4 percent took effect on September 10 and now apply to more than US$2 billion worth of annual trade between the EU and China.

The European Union supplies roughly a quarter of its pork exports to China, and shipments to the country had risen 4 percent in the first half of 2025 after three years of declines.

Much of the trade involves offal such as pig ears, feet and snouts, which are widely consumed in China but have limited markets elsewhere, leaving European producers with few alternatives.

French pork association Inaporc has warned that while exports would continue, weaker returns are likely to push down farmgate prices and force cutbacks in production across Europe.

The development comes just as European pork producers were beginning to recover from high feed and energy costs, raising concerns that the fragile rebound could stall.

China’s Ministry of Commerce said on Friday that preliminary findings showed EU suppliers had been selling pork below cost, harming domestic producers and justifying the tariffs.