December 26, 2007

China's 2007 pork subsidies cost US$2.05 billion

China has spent 15.2 billion yuan (US$2.05 billion) this year in an effort to help hog breeders to ensure adequate pork supplies, said Zeng Xiao'an, a senior official with the Ministry of Finance, on Monday (December 24).

The ministry has also insured fertile sows and vaccinate animals against major epidemic diseases to help pork farmers who have been experiencing economic slump since May due to high feed costs and blue ear disease outbreaks, he said.

The government has also vowed to double the subsidy for every fertile sow to 100 yuan from July 2008 for a whole year.

The sow insurance, which was launched in August to cover losses from disease and disaster, would be extended to "as many sows as possible," according to a State Council executive meeting held by Wen Jiabao earlier this month. By November, China had insured 21.2 million sows, or 44.5 percent of the herd nationwide, according to the China Insurance Regulatory Commission.

The central government also planned to spend 2.5 billion yuan next year to help breeders build "standardized, large-scale" pig farms, according to a decision reached at the meeting. Vaccinations against major epidemic diseases would be available free of charge and subsidies should be offered to farmers whose pigs were culled to control diseases, it said.

Agriculture Minister Sun Zhengcai on Sunday urged local governments to strive for steady supply of pork next year, pushing up pork production to 53 million tonnes.