May 29, 2009

Economic downturn, AH1N1 flu poses threats to China's hog industry

The current global economic downturn and the AH1N1 flu outbreak have dealt a severe blow to the country's hog industry, according to China's Ministry of Agriculture.

China's legislature, the National People's Congress (NPC), has launched an inspection program, in an effort to develop effective countermeasures.

Since the beginning of this year, pig farmers are incurring losses due to the significant and sustained slump in pork prices, said Gao Hongbin, an official from the Ministry of Agriculture.

He added that it is very likely that pork production will further decline. Meanwhile, China's dairy industry also faces gloomy prospects as the reverberations from last year's contaminated milk scandal that involved some of China's biggest dairy producers still linger.

In addition, the risks and uncertainty about animal-related epidemic diseases are increasing and have become a common problem facing all people. The bird flu and blue ear epidemics in recent years, as well as the current AH1N1 flu pandemic have caused significant impact on the stable development of China's livestock industry.

Gao said the international financial meltdown has also added to the troubles facing the industry as both export and domestic consumption of home-grown livestock products have dipped.

The sales decline coupled with the credit squeeze has forced many producers to suspend or even shut down their production lines.

In a response to these issues, the NPC will send inspection teams into the field in eight provinces from June onwards, with the aim to improve the industry's situation.