Cargill shuts feed mills in China for ASF spread

Cargill shuttered animal-feed mills in China in recent months partly because the rapid spread of a fatal hog disease has reduced demand, Reuters informs.

The outbreak accelerated closures of Cargill animal-feed mills in coastal regions of China that were also prompted by a westward shift over the past decade of the areas in which livestock are raised, Warta said. Most of the facilities will not be re-opened even if China gets African swine fever under control, Chuck Warta, president of Cargill’s animal nutrition and pre-mix business, said.

But Cargill still sees a bright future for its animal-nutrition business in China, Warta said. The company said it is spending USD 65 million to replace a pre-mix plant in Nanjing and is also buying land for a similar facility in Henan province.

Cargill closed three feed and animal-nutrition plants in the second half of the fiscal year that ended on May 31, representing an approximately 150,000-metric-tonne reduction in capacity, according to the company.

"For the first six months of 2019, China’s soybean imports dropped 14.7% from the same period last year as African swine fever curbed demand for hog feed," the message says.

Cargill reported a 17% year-on-year decrease in net income in the 2019 financial year (FY ended May 31, 2019), compared to the previous year, to USD 2.56 billion.