Pork production volume in China 2014-2024

In 2024, around 57.06 million metric tons of pork was produced in China, a slight decrease from around 57.94 million tons in the previous year. In 2019 and 2020, the market was affected by a major African swine fever outbreak in the country, which started in mid-2018 and lasted for over a year. 

Pork industry in China

China has the largest hog heard in the world and accounts for more than a half of the global pig population. Around 60 percent of China’s entire meat industry output is pork. Pork is also by far most favored and most consumed type of meat in the Chinese diet. The domestic per capita consumption of pork remained the highest among all fresh meat products, and is expected to increase. To meet the growing demand China imports over a million metric tons of pork annually. In 2023, pork import volume fell back to 1.55 million tons from 4.39 million tons in 2020 as a result of increased domestic production. 

WH Group

WH Group (formerly Shuanghui Group) is China’s leading meat processing company and the largest pork company in the world. In 2013, the corporation acquired Smithfield Foods, the largest pork processing company in the United States. In 2023, WH Group generated a total revenue of around 26.2 billion U.S. dollars, mostly from packaged meat products and fresh pork. The company owns pig farms and production bases in China, the United States, and Europe.