New Hope Liuhe expects its feed business to grow in 2026, targeting 2 million–3 million tonnes of additional external feed sales and double-digit profit growth. Meanwhile, the company plans to reduce hog output to 16 million head, focus on health management and cost control, and further expand overseas feed capacity.
Chinese agri giant New Hope Liuhe has laid out its 2026 plans for its 2 core businesses: feed and pig production. At a recent analyst meeting for its 2025 annual report and Q1 2026 report, the company said it expects external feed sales to grow by 2 million–3 million tonnes this year, while hog output will be reduced to 16 million head.
In feed, New Hope said it will continue to focus on expanding scale, adjusting its product structure, and improving efficiency. That means raising load rates at individual plants, cutting low-efficiency capacity and loss-making units, and promoting its premix business. The company expects full-year profit in the feed segment to grow by double digits.
In pig production, the emphasis will be on health management and disease prevention. New Hope said it aims to improve sow weaning rates and gilt entry rates, while continuing to optimise genetic improvement. In response to policy guidance, the company will lower hog output to 16 million head. It has set a planned cost-reduction target of CNY 1.00/kg (USD 0.14/kg), with a more ambitious challenge target of CNY 1.50/kg (USD 0.21/kg).
In 2025, New Hope sold 29.74 million tonnes of feed in total, up 15% year-on-year. External sales reached 24.51 million tonnes, up 16%. Within that, external sales of poultry feed, pig feed, aquafeed, and ruminant feed reached 16.57 million tonnes, 5.33 million tonnes, 1.97 million tonnes, and 530,000 tonnes, respectively. All recorded double-digit growth.
The company’s hog sales reached 17.55 million head in 2025. The full cost of finished pigs from its operating farm lines was CNY 12.84/kg (USD 1.79/kg), down CNY 1.69/kg (USD 0.24/kg) year-on-year. The 2026 plan therefore implies a reduction of roughly 9% in hog output.
Financially, feed remained the stronger leg. New Hope’s feed business posted a profit of CNY 1.17 billion (USD 162.95 million) in 2025, up 20%. Its pig business, by contrast, lost CNY 2.33 billion (USD 324.51 million), of which CNY 2.15 billion (USD 299.44 million) occurred in Q4. The company’s full-year net loss was CNY 1.78 billion (USD 247.91 million), including about CNY 1.20 billion (USD 167.13 million) from biological asset impairments and asset exits.
In Q1 2026, feed profit remained at an average of CNY 100 million (USD 13.93 million) per month, rising 30% year-on-year to CNY 300 million (USD 41.78 million). The pig business lost CNY 1.13 billion (USD 157.38 million), including CNY 270 million (USD 37.60 million) in impairment provisions. Overall, New Hope recorded a quarterly net loss of about CNY 900 million (USD 125.35 million).
Feed: structural opportunities remain
According to New Hope, external feed sales reached 6.21 million tonnes in Q1 2026, up 15% year-on-year and the highest first-quarter level in 5 years. Pig feed and aquafeed both grew by around 30%.
“Although tonne profit declined somewhat due to fluctuations in raw material prices, overall profit continued to grow,” the company said. Its overall capacity utilisation rate in feed was 60%.
Despite strong competition in China’s domestic feed market, New Hope said structural opportunities remain. Large companies still need toll-manufacturing partnerships because of regional layout considerations. At the same time, specialised finishing companies are emerging and replacing purchases once made by scattered smallholders. Small farmers that have scaled up are also more inclined to secure stable supply. Together, these factors are driving growth in toll manufacturing and direct-supply business for larger companies.
New Hope said feed demand in the first half of 2026, and even into Q3, is well supported. That is linked to the current capacity-reduction phase in the hog market. Hog inventories remain relatively high, while the number of newborn piglets has only just started to decline year-on-year.
On margins, the company expects some pressure in the second half as profitability weakens among downstream farming customers. Even so, it still sees support from feed volume.
New Hope said tonne profit for pig feed in normal years has been around CNY 100/t (USD 13.93/t). In good market conditions, it can reach about CNY 150/t (USD 20.89/t), while in downturns it is around CNY 70/t (USD 9.75/t).
“Downstream farmers, especially large-scale and specialised customers, obtain price discounts through long-term cooperation, which may slightly reduce average pricing,” the company said. “But these large orders also help fully utilise plant-line capacity and reduce fixed costs, creating a positive impact on overall profit.”
New Hope added that, as downstream consolidation increases, upstream feed margins may be diluted. For now, however, China’s pig industry still consists of both large companies and local farmers. Market capacity remains large, and there is still room to improve efficiency. For that reason, the company expects short-term profitability to remain relatively stable.
Overseas growth adds momentum
New Hope also sees large room in overseas markets.“From an operating perspective, our growth rate in recent years has increased from around 15% previously to more than 20%,” the company said. “This has mainly benefited from lower costs in our domestic pig business and improved funding conditions, giving us more resources to invest overseas.”
The company’s overseas capacity utilisation rate reached 86% in 2025. Since the second half of 2024, New Hope has stepped up overseas capacity construction.
“This year, we will continue to accelerate capacity expansion and obtain profit through rapid capacity construction and full production,” the company said. “Although average tonne profit may be affected by intense market competition and temporary concessions to gain market share, overseas markets are in a phase of rapid growth. Capacity expansion will further support performance growth.”
Overall, New Hope expects its feed business to maintain stable growth in China, while overseas markets deliver a more significant lift. Its view for full-year growth remains optimistic.
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