Obese pigs in China are worsening a slump in pork prices, report says

• Obese pigs are being blamed for worsening the slump in China's pork prices, Bloomberg reported.
• Farmers anticipated that larger animals would generate higher returns when prices increased, but a slew of bad news has weighed on pork prices.
• Now farmers have to spend more to feed the larger animals, meaning each animal generates less return.

Obese pigs in China are being blamed for worsening a slump in the country's pork prices, according to a report from Bloomberg.

In the hope that a larger animal will generate higher returns if prices rebound, farmers in China have been fattening their pigs to double their weight, nearly the size of a female polar bear, Bloomberg said.

However, the strategy hasn't helped farmers as prices haven't rebounded. Chinese pork prices have fallen more than 40% since mid-January amid sluggish demand, increased imports, and panic-selling after a recent swine fever outbreak.

The price rout since February triggered a sell-off in the large pigs that could be delaying a rebound in prices, Lin Guofa, senior analyst at consultancy Bric Agriculture Group told Bloomberg.

For farmers who still own the larger hogs, falling pork prices have led to poor returns on the animals because they're larger and more expensive to feed.