December 8, 2006

China's pig production up

Chinese pig production reached 540.77 million pigs, up 3.5 percent in the first nine months of the year, according to a report by China's Ministry of Agriculture.

The top five pig producing provinces are Sichuan, Henan, Hunan, Shandong and Hebei.

The country exported 207,500 tonnes of chilled/frozen pork valued at US$301 million during the period. About 75 percent of the products were shipped to North Korea, Vietnam and Hong Kong, said the report.

Processed pork exports, mainly sent to Japan, Hong Kong and Malaysia, grew by 10 percent to 106,600 tonnes. China's total exports of pig products including chilled/frozen pork, processed pork, as well as pork by-products and live pigs were valued at US$726 million.

In the domestic market, the pig prices have started rising this June, after falling for 21 months. The report predicted prices would continue to rise with increasing pork demand due to the coming New Year and Spring Festival.