The five largest pork producers in China in 2021 were Muyuan, Zhengbang Technology, Wen’s, Twins and New Hope.

According to Muyuan, these five companies sold 90.04 million pigs, which represents 13.41% of the country’s total pig production.

The concentration of the pig industry in China has shown an upward trend in recent years. Compared with other countries with more mature industrial development, the degree of scale is still at a lower level.

At the end of 2021, there were 449.22 million live pigs, an increase of 10.51% from the previous year, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs.

By the end of 2021, there will be 43.29 million breeding sows in the country, a 4% increase from the previous year.

China is the world’s largest pork production market. Data from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) indicates that China’s pork production accounted for 44.09% of the world total in 2021, ranking first globally.

Pork producers

That coverage has changed in recent years: in 2018 (48.28%), in 2019 (42.12%) and 2020 (37.95 percent).

China is the world’s largest pork consumption market. According to data released by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the USDA, pork consumption in China accounts for about 46% of global pork consumption.

Also, China’s per capita pork consumption is about twice the world’s per capita pork consumption.

Pork is the most important source of animal protein for the Chinese and has long been the main source of meat consumption in that nation.

According to data from the National Bureau of Statistics, China’s pork production was 52.96 million tons in 2021, accounting for 59.59% of the main production of livestock and poultry meat.

China’s pig farming industry has long been dominated by free-range farming, with a low concentration of the industry, with a large number of free-range farmers and small and medium-sized farms.

In 2021, Muyuan sold 40.26 million live pigs, including 36.88 million commercial pigs, 3.09 million piglets and 281,000 breeding pigs.