February 6, 2017

USDA China: Chinese feed mill a sign of growth for South China swine industry

USDA China's Agricultural Trade Office (ATO) in Guangzhou and the Agricultural Affairs Office (AAO) at the US Embassy in Beijing, China, visited a major South China feed mill and swine farm to gain market intelligence on the industry in early January.

Like other major feed suppliers in the region, the feed mill uses multiple US ingredients such as sorghum, distiller's dried grains (DDGS), soybean meal and corn to produce feed mixtures for the livestock industry. 

Representatives at the feed mill also reported that they import whey powder and alfalfa products for high-end feed for sows and suckling pigs.  The swine farm currently produces 100,000 head annually but plans to significantly increase production in the coming year. 

Both the mill and farm representatives are very optimistic about the South China swine industry as a whole and expect feed demand and swine numbers to expand over the next two years after recovering from a period of consolidation.  This consolidation trend was largely caused by stricter environmental polices forcing several smaller operations out of business. 

- USDA China