10 is nearing its end, but pig prices continue to fall, dashing hopes of stabilization at month-end! Data monitoring by Zhuduoduo shows that on 2026 year 10 month 28, the national average price of live pigs of the three-way crossbreed was 9.30 yuan/kg, down another 0.10 yuan/kg from yesterday. Live pig prices have been falling relentlessly, and many farmers are pinning their hopes on the approaching peak season for cured meat consumption. As seasonal demand for pork rebounds, can it put a floor under depressed pig prices and halt the ongoing decline?
Across the country, quotes in most major live pig-producing regions continued to fall, while a few regions briefly stabilized. As of the latest update, mainstream live pig prices in most parts of the country were in the range of 9-10 yuan/kg, with some local markets even falling to 8-9 yuan/kg. For example, quotes in Xinjiang, Hainan, and Guangxi were just 8.56, 8.75, and 8.95 yuan/kg, respectively. Fujian and Guangdong were the only two provinces where prices temporarily remained above 10 yuan/kg.
The market's greatest hope at present is the peak season for stocking up on meat for curing, which is about to begin. Monitoring by the National Big Data Center for Live Pigs shows that on 10 month 26, the wholesale transaction volume of white pork carcasses in Beijing was 57.84 ten thousand kilograms, up 8.95% from yesterday. On 10 month 27, the wholesale transaction volume of white pork carcasses in Beijing was 58.06 ten thousand kilograms, up another 2.96% from yesterday. The steady recovery in the volume of white carcasses moving through the terminal market will provide some support for pig prices.
It should be noted that the slight recovery in white-strip pork transaction volumes reflects only a marginal improvement in consumption; it does not mean that the peak season for curing meat has fully begun. Based on patterns in previous years, large-scale curing activity is concentrated in the latter half of 11 month. For now, a wave of consumption has been driven only by localized cold air, and the increase in demand is limited, making it difficult to immediately reverse the broader pattern of oversupply.
Overall, expectations for prices to stabilize at the end of the month have already been dashed, and in the short term, hog prices are likely to remain low and continue to bottom out. Hog farmers should avoid placing excessive bets on peak-season market conditions or blindly holding back hogs in the hope of a rebound. Going forward, they should continue to monitor slaughterhouse operating rates, the pace of frozen pork stock releases, and large producers’ marketing plans, and assess short-term market fluctuations rationally.