According to the hog data for month 9 of year 2026 released by five national ministries and commissions, at the end of quarter 3 of year 2026, the national breeding sow inventory was 3602 ten thousand head, down 178 ten thousand head from the end of quarter 2, a decrease of 4.7%, marking a quarter-on-quarter decline for 5 consecutive quarters;
It was down 433 ten thousand head from the same period of the previous year, a decrease of 10.7%, marking a year-on-year decline for 5 consecutive years. It was also the lowest quarterly inventory since the end of the second quarter of year 2020, that is, the lowest in more than 6 years.
According to the Implementation Plan for Regulation of Hog Production Capacity (revised in year 2026) issued by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, the normal holding level for the national breeding sow inventory is 3750 ten thousand head. An inventory within 92%–103% of the normal holding level (including the two threshold values of 92% and 103%) is in the green zone, indicating normal fluctuations in production capacity. Market regulation is the primary approach, and, in principle, regulatory measures are not initiated. Monitoring and early-warning work is maintained as routine, with dynamic monitoring information released regularly.
At the end of month 9 in year 2026, the inventory of breeding sows was 148 ten thousand head below the normal inventory level of 3750 ten thousand head, equivalent to 96.0% of the normal inventory level. This falls within the green zone and represents normal fluctuations in production capacity.
At the end of the 3 quarter of year 2026, the national inventory of live pigs was 42533 ten thousand head, an increase of 42 ten thousand head from the previous quarter, or 0.1%, marking a slight quarter-on-quarter increase for 2 consecutive quarters;
A year-on-year decrease of 1147 ten thousand head, a decline of 2.6%.
In the first 2026 quarters of 3, the country marketed 53739 ten thousand live pigs, an increase of 747 ten thousand head year on year, up 1.4%. The increase was 0.3 percentage points lower than in the first half of the year, reaching a record high for the same period in any previous year.
By quarter, live pig marketings in the first, second, and third quarters were 20026 ten thousand head, 17220 ten thousand head, and 16493 ten thousand head, respectively, up 2.8%, 0.4%, and 0.7% year on year, respectively.
In the first 3 quarters of the year before 2026, national pork production was 4508 ten thousand tons, an increase of 140 ten thousand tons year over year, representing an increase of 3.2%, a record high for the same period in any year.