December 16, 2010

Scandinavian Farms sets up first pig breeding farm in China

A Danish-owned pig breeding farm in the Jiangsu province, the first large-scale Danish investment in Chinese agriculture based on the concept "safe pork" and "farm-to-table" principles, broke ground on December 11. 

Scandinavian Farms Ltd, which will manage the operation, is a Danish project development company established in China.

The company is owned by the two founders Peter N. Rasmussen and Martin Hjort Jensen, together with a group of Danish investors from leading companies within agricultural technology and the feed industry. The subsidiary company Scandinavian Pig Breeding Technology, which is going to run the breeding farm, is owned by Danish pig producers.

In 2009, the Industrialisation Fund for Developing Countries (IFU) under the Danish Foreign Ministry joined in the project, creating local employment and income in the Jiangsu province. 

Jiangsu already has a more advanced agricultural system compared to other Chinese provinces due to its strong focus on agricultural development.

The project in Jiangsu is the first of its kind and will clear the way for several other projects in the future which both China and Denmark can benefit from.