January 18, 2008

Animal production in China's Hubei hits RMB65 billion in 2007

Data released by Hubei province's Livestock Bureau showed that its animal production industry generated RMB65 billion worth of products last year, accounting for one-third of the value of agricultural production.

As of end-2007, slaughters of hog (37.68 million heads), cattle (1.3 million heads), sheep (4.25 million heads) and poultry (430 million birds) were up by 11 percent, 6.7 percent, 8.4 percent and 11.7 percent on-year respectively.

Meat (3.9 million tonnes), egg (1.42 million tonnes) and milk (0.15 million tonnes) production also registered strong growth, at 11.4 percent, 13.8 percent and 8 percent on-year respectively.

In the recent years, Hubei's provincial government had facilitated the development of the animal production industry, providing various incentives to encourage animal production. Small-scale livestock production areas had increased to 1,591 in 2007, contributing significantly to the rise in the value of the industry.

RMB1=US$0.1380 (Jan 18)