Muyuan’s slaughtering business delivered more than CNY 160 million (USD 22.28 million) in profit in Q1 2026, supported by strong volume growth and capacity utilisation above 100%. The segment helped offset losses from lower hog prices, while new slaughtering and cutting capacity will be added this year in Jiangsu and Hubei.
China’s Muyuan has reported a strong quarter for its slaughtering and pork business, helping offset part of the pressure from sharply lower hog prices in its farming operations.
At its Q1 2026 results briefing on April 21, Muyuan said it slaughtered 8.279 million hogs in the quarter, up 55.6% year-on-year. Capacity utilisation exceeded 100%.
The company said its slaughtering and pork segment maintained sound operating momentum. Profit per hog came close to CNY 20 (USD 2.79), implying quarterly slaughtering profit of more than CNY 160 million (USD 22.28 million).That contribution partly softened the losses caused by the sharp decline in hog prices. Muyuan recorded a Q1 loss of CNY 1.215 billion (USD 169.22 million), compared with a profit of CNY 4.491 billion (USD 625.49 million) in the same period last year.
A useful comparison is Shuanghui Development, China’s most mature player in hog slaughtering. In 2025, its profit per hog was about CNY 25 (USD 3.48). In terms of slaughter volume, however, Muyuan has moved far ahead. Last year, Muyuan slaughtered about 28.66 million hogs, compared with about 13.14 million for Shuanghui.
“We remain very confident about sustained profitability and year-on-year growth in slaughter volume this year,” said Chief Financial Officer Gao Tong, Muyuan. “That is inseparable from the maturity of our operating system and the development of our talent team. We are also doing better in expanding sales channels and improving pork quality.”
Gao Tong
Gao added that Muyuan’s new slaughtering or cutting capacity this year will mainly be located in Jiangsu and Hubei. Newly commissioned capacity, however, is unlikely to achieve high processing volumes and strong returns within the year.
According to AgriPost, since entering the slaughtering and pork business in 2019, Muyuan has established meat subsidiaries in 26 counties across 11 provinces. Of these, 10 slaughterhouses have already started production, with combined annual slaughtering capacity of 29 million hogs. Its Jiangsu project is located in Guannan county, Lianyungang city, while its Hubei projects are in Laohekou and Zhongxiang.
Board Secretary Qin Jun added that the strong year-on-year growth in Q1 was partly a carry-over effect from the continuous ramp-up in slaughter volume through last year’s quarters. For the full year, he said, the growth rate is unlikely to remain at the same pace.
Qin Jun
On improving slaughtering profitability, Qin pointed first to further improvement in capacity utilisation, which he said the company will certainly achieve this year. The second driver is the gradual increase in the share of fine-cut products, based on the customer and channel resources accumulated over the past few years, as well as stronger development of higher value-added products.
Qin stressed that Muyuan currently has no plans to move into further processing beyond fresh pork.
“All our products, whether carcasses, cuts, or small packs, are in the form of fresh pork. This is very clear, and it can be described as a strategic direction for the company’s entire slaughtering division,” he said.
He also disclosed that Muyuan’s capital expenditure in slaughtering is about CNY 200 (USD 27.86) per hog. Based on the current profit of CNY 20 (USD 2.79) per hog, annualised return on equity (ROE) has reached 10%, which he described as a fairly solid level.
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