Although African swine fever (ASF) has been spreading throughout China since last summer, New Hope Group, which owns China’s largest animal feed producer New Hope Liuhe, says it is not suffering negative effects from disease outbreak.
New Hope Liuhe encompasses more than 200 animal feed companies and, because of that diversity in business, has been able to benefit from higher chicken prices that have occurred as a result of the pig disease.
Although ASF does not affect humans, it is highly contagious and deadly among pigs, cannot be cured and has no vaccine. ASF has been spreading throughout pig farms and wild boar in China and parts of Europe since last summer, and has resulted in the death or culling of hundreds of thousands of pigs. It recently was detected for the first time in Vietnam.
New Hope Chairman Liu Yonghao said in a report that his company has benefited from ASF as more pig farmers are buying feed from the company because they are confident its feed was not contaminated with the virus.
In October, for example, Chinese animal feed producer Tangrenshen said ASF was found in feed samples produced by its subsidiary, Bili Meiyingwei Nutrition Feedstuff, during inspections after an outbreak of the disease at a farm in Anhui province and that it was investigating. It later said authorities had notified the company that tests had failed to confirm the disease in the samples of raw materials or finished products.
According to WATTAgNet’s Top Feed Companies database, New Hope Group’s affiliate company New Hope Liuhe is China’s largest feed manufacturer and one of China’s largest agri-husbandry enterprises. The enterprise operates across China and 20 other countries, primarily in Asia. New Hope Liuhe comprises the vast majority of New Hope Group revenues, controlling nearly 500 branch and subsidiary companies engaged in animal feed, livestock breeding and raising, meat processing and financial investments.
View our continuing coverage of the African swine fever outbreak.
