March 17, 2008

Hubei launched as China's largest pig raising base

A five-year project was launched Saturday in Hubei, making the central province China's top pig raising base, with a US$1.36 billion budget.

China National Cereals, Oils and Foodstuffs Corporation (COFCO), the country's largest oils and food importer and exporter and leading food manufacturer, started the project in Wuhan, the provincial capital.

COFCO will also build a 500,000-reproduciblesow breeding base, a 10 million live pig raising demonstration project and set up centers for pig breeding technology research and pig disease prevention in the next five years, Yu Xubo, COFCO president, said.

The pig breeding project is expected to rake in an additional income of RMB2 billion (US$280 million) for local farmers, according to Tang Tao, Hubei vice governor.