New Hope Liuhe keeps its sow herd flat (~760,000) and targets stability via efficiency and compliance. 2024 sales are 16–17 million head; KPIs improved (PSY 25.4, weaning cost ~CNY 260/head, FCR 2.66→<2.6, survival 94%, full cost CNY 13.1/kg), turning a CNY 47m profit. Biosecurity strengthened, digital tools deployed, and self-finishing rose to ~4:6 with contract growers as the cost gap narrowed.
New Hope Liuhe said its breeding sow inventory has seen “basically no growth” since 2023 and will stay around current levels in the near term, aiming to stabilise the market through efficiency gains, cost reductions, and strict compliance. The message came at the company’s half-year analyst meeting.
Board secretary Zhao Liang noted that since late May, the company has joined policy roundtables hosted by the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, and the China Animal Husbandry Association. “We believe the national policy framework supports healthy, long-term development,” said Zhao, adding it should help avoid a scenario where a short-lived recovery in 2024 leads to another wave of capacity expansion and a renewed, prolonged loss cycle.
Production scale and sales discipline
New Hope Liuhe currently keeps about 760,000 breeding sows, with this year’s hog marketings expected at 16–17 million head, roughly flat year-on-year. Thanks to replacement of breeding stock and improved productivity, next year’s output may be “slightly higher.” Market hog weights remain stable at 118–120 kg.
On sales discipline, the company said it has strictly adhered to national policies since June, notifying customers via the sales department and “curbing speculative behaviour” in the market.
Core KPIs: productivity up, costs down
For H1, average PSY (pigs per sow per year) reached 25.4, up 0.7 head from 2024, and has been above 26 in recent months. Average weaning cost was about CNY 260 per head (USD 36.21 per head), down CNY 30 (USD 4.18 per head) from end-2024; in recent months it was below CNY 250 (USD 34.82 per head) per head. Finisher survival averaged 94%, up 2 percentage points vs end-2024. Feed conversion ratio (FCR) averaged 2.66, trending toward ~2.6; July came in below 2.6.
At normal-operation sites, average full cost fell to CNY 13.10 per kg (USD 1.83 per kg). The hog segment recorded net profit attributable to shareholders of CNY 47.00 million (USD 6.55 million), a swing of nearly CNY 1.5 billion (USD 208.91 million) year-on-year.
“While absolute profit still trails the industry leaders, our operating metrics have improved markedly versus recent years, and a clear, sustained turnaround is underway,” said chief financial officer Shi Han.
Three focus areas in 2025: biosecurity, system optimisation, digital tools
1) Tightened biosecurity. The company reported >60% year-on-year reduction in African Swine Fever (ASF) incidence in H1; company-owned finisher farms have recorded zero cases since February. Incidence of porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV) and PRRS (blue-ear disease) fell 34% and 25%, respectively, helping steady production cadence.
2) Production system optimisation.
• Boars: All boars now exceed 1,000 g average daily gain (ADG), with 57% above 1,200 g; H1 ADG rose by >20 g versus 2024.
• Sows: Grandparent lines were refreshed with purebred replacements to lift parent-stock reproductive performance; average total born per litter reached 11.9, up 0.4 piglet versus 2024.
• Finishing: Stronger empty-pen management and big-pig mortality control raised utilisation of company-owned finisher sites. By end-June, the self-raised versus contract-raised inventory ratio approached 4:6.
3) Digital and smart upgrades. Feed-silo weighing now covers 57% of contract growers (86% among core growers). The company is rolling out needle-free injectors and smart ultrasound, and some southern finisher farms have begun using cough-monitoring systems. A “pig-farming AI assistant” has gone live with initial veterinarian-assistant and data Q&A functions.
Path forward: more self-finishing, unlocking idle assets, further cost room
Management acknowledged that company KPIs have clearly improved and are above industry average, but “not yet best-in-class.” Targeting today’s front-runner, New Hope Liuhe sees “at least” a further CNY 1-plus per kg (USD 0.14-plus per kg) cost-down potential. It also expects proprietary-IP breeding to transmit additional cost benefits over the next 2–3 years.
To reduce depreciation and amortisation per kg, the company is increasing the share of self-finishing and re-activating idle finisher barns. In 2021–2022, self-finishing costs were notably higher than contract finishing, prompting heavier use of contract growers and leaving many barns under-utilised. Since setting up a dedicated self-finishing management unit in 2022, the self-finishing cost gap has narrowed to CNY 0.50–1.00 per kg (USD 0.07–0.14 per kg). As a result, the self-finishing vs contract ratio moved from roughly 3:7 for much of last year to nearly 4:6 in H1 this year.
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