September 27, 2019

CP in China plans to raise 10 million pigs a year by 2021

C.P. Pokphand Co, one of China's top five swine producers, is accelerating its business expansion, the company's chief executive told Reuters.

The company plans to raise 10 million pigs a year by 2021, up from four million currently, Bai Shanlin told Reuters in an interview.

This was despite the African swine fever (ASF) virus having infected several of C.P's farms, with some of its smaller, older farms vulnerable to the virus because they did not have adequate biosecurity, added Bai.

More than 90% of China's farms still need to be upgraded, Bai opines.

C.P. lost "less than 10%" of its sows to African swine fever, leaving it with 250,000 productive sows, he said.

The infected farms will be repopulated soon, starting with a farm in Shenyang in northeast Liaoning next month, followed by another in Dongying in northern Shandong province, he said. Both of the farms previously had 2,400 breeding sows.

Losses of just 4% among 200 contract sow farmers under C.P. prove the disease is preventable, he said.

The company has already secured the land and budget to feed, raise and slaughter another six million pigs a year, he said.

"We build our own sow units, finisher units, dedicated transport and slaughter systems, and include crop land," he said, giving the company oversight of the whole supply chain to better cope with the threat of ASF.

The company additionally operates three large slaughterhouses and is building three more to raise its slaughter rate from just half of its pigs currently.