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 China has been trying to rebuild its massive hog herd since the
deadly African swine fever virus ravaged the country's farms during
2018 and 2019.
But use of unapproved vaccines in a bid to protect against the
disease had the opposite effect and ended up killing pigs, said Ma
Xiangjie, president of Henan Shuanghui Investment and Development,
WH Group's domestic unit.
Pig prices rose significantly at the end of 2020, as supplies
tightened, said Ma, defying expectations of growing hog output.
"Since the second half of last year some pig producers in China,
especially south of the Yangtze river, used some immature pig
vaccines and caught African swine fever again," said Ma, after the
company released its annual earnings.
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 The company has raised its
forecast on pig prices this year due to the
impact of "toxic vaccines", he added, though
said prices will still be on average lower than
in 2020.
The company said it processed 46% fewer hogs in
China in 2020 compared with the prior year
because of tight supply but lifted its imports
to make up the shortfall.
(Reporting by Dominique Patton, editing by
Louise Heavens)
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