Market analysis

Key characteristics of China's piglet market include the following: Many hog raisers have continued to incur losses as feed costs stay high while hog prices have remained low. Piglets are prone to diseases with recent changes in temperature and this has discouraged farmers from buying them.

The pace of fattening will also be slower in summer with the efficiency in feed utilisation lower. Thus, farmers are less willing to buy piglets for fattening. As piglet prices failed to improve in the Labour Day holidays, raisers are more cautious. Most of them prefer to reduce their piglet inventories and send their sows for slaughtering. Middlemen traders who act as go betweens for hog raisers and commercial breeders say that few deals have been concluded in the week under review.

Market forecast

In the week ahead, buying interest in China's piglet markets is seen weak given that hog prices are not expected to recover much. Piglet supply is likely to continue outstripping demand in the near term.