In 2024, Shuanghui saw its hog slaughter volume drop by 19.4% to 10.28 million head, falling further behind rival Muyuan, which processed 12.52 million pigs. While overall pork demand in China remained weak, Shuanghui improved margins in its packaged meat segment due to lower input costs. Looking ahead to 2025, the company expects stable raw material prices but thinner profit margins as it shifts toward more affordable product lines.
According to figures from parent company WH Group, Shuanghui’s slaughter volume dropped by 19.40% in 2024, reaching approximately 10.28 million head. This corresponds to a facility utilisation rate of just 40.8% out of an annual capacity of 25.21 million pigs。
Once the unrivalled leader in China’s pork processing sector, Shuanghui has now fallen significantly behind regional rival Muyuan, with the widening slaughter volume gap reflecting both intensifying competition and continued weakness in pork consumption across the country.
Muyuan Pulls Ahead for Second Consecutive Year
Shuanghui has now been overtaken by Muyuan for the second year in a row. Also based in Henan province, Muyuan slaughtered 12.52 million pigs in 2024—despite a 6% year-on-year decline from 2023’s 13.26 million head. The difference between the two companies’ volumes has now widened to over 2 million head. Just a year earlier, Shuanghui’s volume had still been slightly ahead, at around 12.75 million pigs.
Muyuan’s strength lies in its upstream integration and strict cost control—advantages that are becoming increasingly important as household spending slows and pork prices remain under pressure.
At the end of 2024, Muyuan operated ten slaughter facilities with a combined capacity of 29 million pigs. The company also confirmed that it plans to bring an additional 2-million-head facility online in the second half of 2025, reinforcing its scale advantage.
Shuanghui’s Pork Sales Down, Poultry Rises
Shuanghui’s 2024 annual report paints a picture of subdued demand. Sales of fresh pork fell by 4.40% year-on-year, totalling 1.34 million tonnes. Packaged meat products also declined, down 6.11% to 1.41 million tonnes. However, fresh poultry sales offered a silver lining, jumping by 27.47% to reach 338,300 tonnes.
Despite the dip in volumes, Shuanghui’s packaged meat division managed to improve profitability thanks to lower raw material costs. Gross margin in that segment rose by 4.01%, reaching 35.67%, and accounted for 41.62% of total company revenue—demonstrating Shuanghui’s ability to preserve margin even amid falling sales.
Shuanghui 2025 Forecast: Stable Costs, Slimmer Margins
In an investor meeting held in Hong Kong on March 25, Shuanghui projected that raw material costs would remain stable in 2025. However, the company plans to focus on offering more affordable, value-oriented products—an approach likely to compress per-tonne profitability.
Even so, management expects operating profit per tonne to remain historically high, buoyed by enhanced operational efficiency and tighter cost controls.
In 2024, Shuanghui reported total operating revenue of CNY 59.70 billion (roughly USD 8.21 billion), down 0.64% from the previous year. Net profit attributable to shareholders came in at CNY 4.99 billion (USD 686.60 million), reflecting a 1.26% year-on-year decline.
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