China’s pig industry looks to shift towards fewer, larger producers

CHINA – China’s pig farming industry is undergoing a significant transformation as larger companies ramp up production and expand their share of the national market.

Production plans announced by 17 publicly traded pig farming firms show they are collectively aiming to produce 217 million pigs in 2025, up 38.1 million from their estimated output in 2024.

The projected increases reflect year-on-year growth rates ranging between 13.62% and 21.26%, according to figures released by the companies.

Nine of these producers, including Muyuan, Wen’s Group, and Twins, plan to scale up their operations by more than one million head each.

Muyuan alone intends to produce up to 78 million pigs in 2025, including as many as 12 million piglets, which would place it just 10 million pigs behind the European Union’s total annual pig output.

Q1 2025 Sees Jump in Output and Profits

In the first quarter of 2025, 22 listed pig producers reported a combined output of 51.05 million pigs, more than 10 million higher than the same period last year.

Sixteen of these companies reported increased year-on-year production, with some firms reporting growth of more than 150%.

Profitability also improved, with Muyuan Foods posting a net income of approximately US$625.4 million (¥4.491 billion), marking a 288.79% increase from the same period in 2024.

The trend toward consolidation was already evident in 2024, when 36 Chinese companies each produced over one million pigs, together accounting for 247 million head or 35.15% of national output.

Although the country’s total pig production fell by 3.31% to 702.56 million head in 2024, the share produced by larger players continued to climb.

The 20 biggest producers supplied 194.23 million pigs in 2024, accounting for 27.63% of national output, up from 24.59% in 2023.

Among these, the top four companies produced 136.01 million pigs, which represented 19.35% of the national total, an increase from 16.5% the previous year.

Additionally, the proportion of the country’s breeding sows held by the top 20 producers grew by about three percentage points, even as the overall sow population declined.

The consolidation trend indicates that large-scale operations are gaining control of more of the market, raising their influence over both production volumes and pricing dynamics.

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