Debt-laden Jiangxi Zhengbang Technology Co Ltd, formerly China’s No.2 hog producer, said on Monday that a court will start restructuring of one of its breeding businesses as it struggles to restore cashflow.
China’s third-quarter pork output reached 12.11 million metric tons, up by less than 1% year-on-year, official data showed, highlighting the impact on production after farmers recorded huge losses earlier in the year.
London-based Hoxton Farms said on Thursday it had raised $22 million from investors to build a pilot plant to produce animal fat from stem cells, aiming to tap into the growing market for less carbon-intensive foods.
China’s state planner has increased its coordination with large-scale pig breeders to ensure stable hog supply, the authority said on Thursday, as it tries to cool soaring prices in the world’s biggest pork market.
China’s hog futures rose as much as 6% on Monday, after a surge in demand during the week-long National Day holiday, amid tight supply, pushed up spot prices.
Meat and dairy production in the European Union is expected to decline this year and next as livestock farms feel the effects of drought, disease outbreaks and rising costs.
The biggest U.S. meat company by sales said on Wednesday it will relocate all corporate employees from offices in Chicago and Downers Grove, Ill. and Dakota Dunes, S.D., to its headquarters in Springdale, Ark.
Starting in October, France will ban the use of meat names like “steak” and “sausage” on plant-based protein food in an effort to avoid confusion over the trendy meat alternatives.
Smithfield Foods Inc has agreed to pay $75 million to settle a lawsuit by consumers who accused the meat producer and competitors of conspiring to inflate prices in the $20 billion-a-year U.S. market by limiting supply.
