With its theme "China's Influence on the Global Animal Production Chain", the forum offers a platform for China and the Netherlands to share their experiences in the animal husbandry and food safety fields and it aims to foster greater cooperation between the two countries in the future. Chaired by Henk Flipsen, Director of the Netherlands Feed Industry Association, the forum saw speeches from a number of Chinese and Dutch guest speakers, including Hans Hoogeveen, Director General of the Netherlands' Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality, Rob van Zadelhoff, Head of Asia at Rabobank, Zhu Xianfu, Chairman of Henan Zhongpin Inc, Jan Cortenbach, Chief Technical Officer of Wellhope-De Heus International, Paul Heskens, General Manager of Convenience Food Systems (CFS), Shao Qiliang, Secretary General of Shanghai Agriculture Committee, and Jiang Guangping, Head of Quality Control Centre at East Hope Group. In total, more than 200 representatives from leading Chinese agricultural enterprises, research institutions and consultation agencies participated in the forum.

 

In his opening speech, Hoogeveen gave a brief yet concise analysis on the current state of development in the Netherlands' animal husbandry and food industries as well as past collaborations between China and the Netherlands. In addition, he shared his views on the reduction of arable land and agricultural water resources in China as well as conflicts arising from the sustainable development of the country's animal husbandry sector, issues that are closely related to the Chinese agricultural industry. In conclusion, he proposed a number of recommendations for future developments in China.

 

Next, Jeroen Leffelaar, Global Head Animal Proteins at Rabobank, presented the findings from his report "Consolidation of the Global Meat Industry and its Importance to China" to the audience. From this report, participants were informed of the present state of development in the global meat industry and they were also given a picture of global developments in 20 years' time. Additionally, the report had done a comprehensive analysis on other topics, including the development of Brazil's animal husbandry industry in recent years, Tyson Foods Inc's development and collaboration history in China as well as the developments and forecast of future developments in the Chinese animal husbandry and meat processing sectors. One striking note from Leffelaar's presentation was that "Asia would account for 70% of the growth in global meat consumption over the next 20 years while the urbanisation of China would push the country's pork consumption rate up by 20% within the next 10 years."

 

Following Leffelaar's speech, Cortenbach presented his report titled "The Development of China's Animal Husbandry Industry", which comprehensively analysed the industry. In his report, Cortenbach said "China's current hog breeding technology is still very backward as an expectant sow in the country can only produce an average of 16 piglets per year compared to 30 in the Netherlands." Meanwhile, he predicted that "China's pork consumption would grow at an annual rate of 3-5% in the next 10 years while per capita egg consumption would increase 10-15% within the next 15 years." As for the low per capita beef consumption in China, Cortenbach believed with the swift development of the country's beef cattle rearing sector in recent years, beef demand would gradually improve over time. Additionally, he touched on the topic on why China has to import large quantities of milk products and he attributed the distrust over domestic products as the main reason. An interesting aspect of Cortenbach's presentation was his ability to conduct sharp analysis of problems existing in China's hog, poultry, and beef and dairy cattle sectors from the rearing technology point of view. 

 

Meanwhile, Zhu and Heskens also presented their reports respectively, with the former elaborating and analysing the development of China's pork industry and Zhongpin Inc's growth and management while the latter examined the current supply-demand situation in China's animal protein market and its future development trends.

 

In the afternoon, the "Safety and Quality in China's Feed Supply Chain Roundtable Seminar" was held and it provided an opportunity for the guest speakers to have an in-depth discussion and analysis on issues such as supply of feed raw materials, feed quality control and certification, formulation technology and quality management. During the discussion, Jiang and three other guest speakers offered their responses to the abovementioned issues. At the same time, guests who were invited to the seminar actively participated in the Q & A session, which further lifted the lively atmosphere.

 

Amid the hearty dialogues among the participants, the forum quietly drew to a close. What is important is that participants from both China and the Netherlands can learn from each other's experiences and help bring the relationship between the two countries in the agricultural field to a brand new level.