China’s pork prices slump on higher supply, falling consumption

China’s pork prices fell sharply last week for the first time in 10 months, as reports of fresh disease outbreaks in the northeast led to more hogs being sent for slaughter just as consumers cut back on pricey meat, analysts said.

Chinese pork prices hit record levels after an epidemic of African swine fever killed millions of pigs in the world’s top pork producer.

Beijing says its herd has shrunk by 41% since a year ago, or almost 200 million pigs, and analysts say pork output will plunge by about a quarter, or 13 million tonnes this year.