An eFeedLink exclusive report

In recent years, many farmers in China's Sichuan province have relocated to urban cities in other provinces to look for jobs. The resultant decline in traditional farming households was accompanied by a drop in farm livestock inventories. In some areas the number of farms with reduced inventories reached as high as 60 percent.

With improved economic returns from hog farming in the past year, coupled with the rapid development of medium-sized farms, hog farming in Sichuan was continually being transformed from traditional backyard household farming to commercial scale operation sensitive to market demand.

As prices of live hogs were on an upward trend for a period of time, more farmers had show enthusiasm to go into hog farming. Based on prevailing market prices, a farmer could earn up to RMB150 per hog. In 2004, a farmer could make a profit of about RMB1,200 per hog.

In the first quarter of 2005, farm hog inventory in Sichuan province registered 56.68 million head, up 4.85 percent compared with the previous year.  22.74 million hogs were released into the market during that period, rising 11.09 percent from 2004.  Prices of piglets recorded RMB11.24/kg in March, 8.40 percent higher than February and up 49.50 percent from the previous year.  Prices of live hogs hovered at RMB7.94/kg, 19.80 percent higher than the same period in previous year, but 2.70 percent lower than February.  Prices of pork averaged RMB13.53/kg, falling 3.90 percent from February, but 17.20 percent higher than the previous year.  The hog to grain ratio stood at 5.33:1. 

The rapid rise in piglet prices after the Spring Festival in mid-February reflected farmers' enthusiasm in replacing their inventory. The marginal fall in prices of live hogs and pork were also consistent with the consumption pattern in Sichuan in the past years. 

Breeder sows currently represented 10.50 percent of the total hog inventory in the province, which was more than the usual level of 8.00 percent. With the continual development of live hog production in Sichuan, hog farmers would continue to sell their piglets to markets in other provinces.

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