March 22, 2013

In order to meet demand that is increasing along with incomes, Henan Shuanghui Investment & Development Co., China's biggest pork  processor plans to ramp up production by more than 50% in 2013.

The company reportedly will spend US$805 million on the expansion project, Zhang Taixi, the company's president is quoted as saying. The company's plans come as consumers' incomes rise and food safety concerns abate amid increasing government oversight.

China's annual per-capita meat consumption is nearly 88 pounds and is expected to double in the next few years as its economy improves, Taixi is quoted as saying.

Last week's discovery of thousands of dead, diseased pigs in the Huangpu River, meanwhile, were the result of stricter health standards, experts say.

"The government is stamping out illegal trade in dead hogs," Alice Xuan, livestock analyst at Shanghai JC Intelligence Co. in Shanghai, said. "Some poor farmers did not see any other choice but to throw them away."