China's Henan imports US breeding pigs

The central Chinese province of Henan, a leading farm production base, has imported 360 breeding pigs from the US to improve the quality of pork, the provincial animal husbandry bureau said Thursday (Mar 12).

Zhengyang County breeding farm, a national breeding facility run by the provincial animal husbandry bureau, will be home to the herd of 60 boars and 300 sows. The farm has spent RMB3 million (US$438,660) to build air-conditioned hog farms.

The pigs were purchased from the US' three largest breeding hog farms in Indiana, Illinois and Nebraska, according to Lai Dengming, the farm head.

Lai added that each pig was valued at RMB20,000 (US$2,924) and all were offspring of prized breeding swine.

Lately, Chinese consumers prefer lean pork due to improving living standards and diets. Lai said the first batch of piglets would be born in September and meat from these animals would start to be sold by next year.