Since August, more than 100 outbreaks of African swine fever (ASF) have been confirmed, in dozens of provinces across China, Mongolia, Vietnam, and Cambodia, ultimately resulting in the culling of a million pigs, reports Quartz. For now, the virus shows no sign of stopping.
Fewer pigs eating means less demand for soybeans, depressing prices for U.S. farmers.
It will take as much as five years to return pig numbers to their previous point, according to a Bloomberg report, since the number of breeding sows is down about 20% from a year ago, while Chinese pork production is expected to decline by just under a third.
