December 1, 2010

China's 2020 pork consumption to reach 52 million tonnes 

People in China on average do not eat more pork, but the increasing population will take total consumption to about 52 million tonnes in 2020.

The average rate of consumption of pig meat per person in China may not increase above the present level between 2010 and 2020, said Ma Cheung, vice-secretary general of the Chin Animal Agriculture Association.

However, China's projected population growth rate of 60-70 million people per year over this period would still take the total annual pork consumed to about 52 million tonnes by 2020.

Herd productivity is an issue for Chinese pig farmers, said Ma. Out of the 65 million farms producing pigs in China, about 62 million are extremely small.

Livestock production in China faces an increase of restrictions aimed at protecting the environment, he added.

Most Chinese pork at present is produced in the East of the country, but a move to more northern areas could be considered in order to gain better access to land and grain.

New initiatives have been launched to improve China's pig breeding resources, according to the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences.

After rather slow progress in the last 10 years, the decision was taken in 2009 to re-launch the national swine genetic improvement programme, and an expert group was formed to work with selected nucleus herds in 2010.

The plan is to focus on 50 nucleus farms with about 50,000 purebred sows for the 2010-2012 period and to double these numbers between 2013 and 2016.