China’s Hog Population Slumps by a Quarter as Virus Wreaks Havoc

China’s hog herds, the world’s biggest, shrank the most in June in at least a year with farmers reluctant to replenish numbers while African swine fever rages, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs.

Hog inventory plunged 26% from a year earlier, the largest contraction since the country first reported an outbreak of the deadly virus in August, data from a survey of pig farms in 400 counties showed. The number of breeding sows slumped 27% from a year ago, the data showed.