China Hog Industry News

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China Approves First GM 'Phytase' Corn
CHINA - The authorities have given approval to the world's first genetically modified (GM) phytase maize to Origin Agritech.



Origin Agritech Limited, a biotech company based in Beijing, has received the Biosafety Certificate from the Chinese Ministry of Agriculture as a final approval for commercial approval of the world's first genetically modified phytase corn.

The International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-Biotech Applications (ISAAA) reports that the transgenic corn is the product of a seven-year study by the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences.

Phytase is used as an additive in animal feed to degrade phytic acid, the storage form of phosphorus in plant feed ingredients. Phytase can increase phosphorus absorption in animals by as much as 60 per cent. With the transgenic crop, there is no need to purchase phytase and corn separately. The use of phytase corn should also reduce phosphate pollution caused by animal waste and excessive fertiliser use, according to the report.

Phytase, as an additive for animal feed, is mandatory in Europe, South-east Asia, South Korea, Japan and other regions for environmental purposes.

Gengchen Han, Origin's Chairman, said: "With this landmark seed approval, we are not only own the first GM corn seed product in China, but we are actively leading the new genetically modified generation of agricultural products for China, and will continue to do so for the future."

Genetically modified seed products in China must undergo five separate stages of approval beginning with a phase one laboratory approval to the final receipt of the Biosafety Certificate in phase five.

Currently, this GM seed approval process is restricted only to domestic seed producers such as Origin Agritech, according to ISAAA.

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China Lifts Bans on US, Canada, Mexico Pork
CHINA - China had lifted import bans on pork products from the United States, Canada and Mexico, the country's top quarantine authorities said Tuesday.



The bans were lifted on the basis of risk assessment, the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine said in a statement on its website.

In April and May, China imposed bans on pigs and pork imports from Mexico, Canada's Alberta Province and some regions of the United States, as an emergency response to the A/H1N1 flu.

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Diseased Meat Shop Closed in Tongzhou
CHINA - A butcher shop selling diseased meat in Daxingzhuang village, Tongzhou district was shut down by local government on Monday following a public tip-off.



The Tongzhou administration for industry and commerce shut the meat shop in response to a call from the public that claimed nearby pig farms were selling animals that had died from illness to the butchery, the Beijing News reported yesterday.

A press officer surnamed Shen from the administration told METRO yesterday that the case is being investigated by the Tongzhou district inspection and quarantine bureau.

The paper also revealed that the butcher was selling diseased meat to shops at a local wholesale market.

"Some citizens from rural Tongzhou brought meat from the wholesale market. And some products, especially the meat, are not fresh," a 55-year-old housewife surnamed Zhou who lives in an urbanized area of Tongzhou district said yesterday.

"I suggest residents go to a supermarket or other large stores to buy meat," Ms Zhou said.

As much as one ton of pork and processed meats were sold daily from the butchery - made up of three private residences in the south part of the village - to the wholesale market, according to the paper.

The paper reported more than 20 dead pigs lay on the ground in front of the butchery, with some animals carrying strange spots or green marks on their skin.

"All the dead pigs will be skinned so our customers don't notice the unusual marks," a butcher told undercover reporters from the Beijing News.

Another employee of the shop said they brought the pigs at 1 yuan per kg and sold them at four times more.

However, when questioned as to the location of the pig farms, the employee refused to comment.

The manager of the butcher told the Beijing News that he sold meat in Beijing and also in other cities. He admitted that some pigs had died from disease while others died during the cold weather.


 

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China's pork prices recover
[7 December 2009] China´s pork producers suffered badly in the first half of 2009 from a combination of oversupply, weak demand and the H1N1 influenza (swine flu) outbreak. Since the second half of the year,a rapid rise in pork prices has re-energised the sector. The recovery was started by government intervention to buy up frozen pork supplies to help support prices. This has come along with a fall in pig numbers as farmers reduce their herds. Together, this saw prices climb by almost 20% from June to September.

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Zhongpin Receives Government Cash Subsidies
CHINA - Zhongpin Inc. has reported that it has received two payments totaling RMB 21.4 million (about $3.1 million) in cash subsidies from the Chinese government.



Zhongpin has recently received a subsidy cash payment of RMB 20 million (about $ 2.9 million) from the Chinese government to help support the development of its new plant in Tianjin. The new plant, which is under construction, will produce chilled and frozen pork and is expected to be completed in the first quarter 2010. When all the construction phases are completed in 2010, the new Tianjin plant will have a total annual capacity of 100,000 metric tons for chilled and frozen pork products.

Zhongpin also recently received a subsidy cash payment of RMB 1.4 million (about $ 204,700) to help support its new premium food oil plant currently under construction in Changge in the Henan province.

China's policies in 2009 have encouraged meat processing companies to further modernize and improve products and processes. As Zhongpin previously announced, China's National Development and Reform Commission approved subsidies on 2009 for Zhongpin's three new pork processing projects, one project in Tianjin and two projects in Changge.

Zhongpin has been an industry leader in modernising meat production by selecting, integrating, and applying the most modern industrial process engineering, quality assurance, biological validation, cold-chain logistics, and information technology systems. As a result, Zhongpin has the highest level of food quality and safety in every step of its entire process -- from farm to fork.

Mr. Xianfu Zhu, Chairman and CEO of Zhongpin, said, "We have embraced and adopted every modern technology available to produce our food products with the highest product quality and safety.

"We were very grateful to receive the RMB 21.4 million subsidies from the Chinese government to help support our expansion, which helps us provide the safest and most-popular protein for China's citizens.

"I believe the cash subsidies we have received and will receive from the government, not only help us as we expand our business, but also provide a tangible indicator of the respect we have earned with the government and our customers. We have worked very diligently to lead the way, because we believe that our innovation is in the absolute best interests of our customers and our investors.

"As the meat processing industry consolidates in China, we believe that Zhongpin will thrive as the safest and one of the largest and most profitable suppliers."

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China to Focus on Animal Epidemic Control
CHINA - At a high-level meeting on animal disease last week, the Vice Agriculture Minister stressed the need for increased efforts to control African swine fever, A H1N1 flu, and zoonotic diseases such as brucellosis and tuberculosis.



From 24 to 25 February, the National Workshop on Animal Epidemic Control and Prevention, and Health Supervision was held in Beijing.

Vice Agricultural Minister Gao Hongbin attended the meeting and delivered an important speech. The Vice Minister fully acknowledged the accomplishment of veterinary service in year 2009, analysed the current situation in animal epidemic prevention and animal health supervision, and raised requirement for the work in year 2010.

Vice Minister Gao remarked that this year the Ministry had identified very ambitious goals for veterinary service. Therefore, the situation for animal epidemic control and prevention will be ever more challenging this year, with more arduous tasks, and deserves our full attention.

The Vice Minister required that agencies responsible for animal epidemic control and prevention, and animal health supervision should work together on infrastructure construction, improve technological capacity of agencies at various levels, strengthen the build-up of staff force, enhance working capacity, and establish and perfect the accountability system of animal epidemic control and prevention to cover all the possible fields.

The Vice Minister also stressed that efforts against three types of diseases should be highlighted this year: African swine fever, influenza A H1N1 and zoonotic diseases such as brucellosis and tuberculosis.

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China Buries FMD Pig Carcasses
CHINA - Rotting carcasses of animals that had died as the result of foot and mouth disease (FMD) animals have been buried t prevent pollution of rivers in suburban Foshan.



Authorities buried more than 40 pig carcasses on 4 March after the rotting remains were found in Sihui of Guangdong province, amid fears of an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in the city, according to an official source.

The carcasses were discovered under a bridge at a riverbank, said Xian Shidong, an official from the city's animal husbandry and veterinary department.

He said: "Special personnel were immediately sent to the scene to dispose of the pigs after local residents reported the find. The carcasses were also treated and the area sterilised to prevent any spread of disease."

He refuted reports of an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in Sihui. The carcasses could have originated from outside the city, he said.

A total of 8,382 pigs were culled after a foot-and-mouth disease outbreak in the province early this month, Xinhua News Agency reported.

The National Foot-and-Mouth Disease Reference Laboratory also confirmed the outbreak, said Yu Yedong, deputy director of Guangdong's animal husbandry and veterinary bureau.

Mr Xian said his department has required operators of major pig farms and other pig farmers to vaccinate their livestock against the disease earlier this year.

He said: "Relevant departments are now investigating the source of the swine carcasses."

A local farmer, who wanted to be known by his family name Chen, said the pig bodies could have been left under the city's Magang bridge for three days.

Sihui, which is under the jurisdiction of Zhaoqing city in the western part of Guangdong, is a major pig-raising base in the southern province that borders the Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions.

Earlier this week, more than 100 pig carcasses were also found within a 500 kilometre-long section of Gaofeng River. The remains severely polluted the water in Sanshui district of Foshan city.

Gaofeng River itself flows into Beijiang River, one of the major tributaries of the Pearl River. At least 20 pig farms are said to be located along both banks of the Gaofeng River.

He Weiquan, director of the animal epidemic prevention station under Sanshui's bureau of agriculture, said the agricultural department and local environmental protection agency as well as neighborhood and village committees are now taking measures to clean the affected areas and investigate the source of the pig carcasses.

Du Zehong, director of nearby Xinan town's animal epidemic prevention station, said the pigs might have died because of inclement and fluctuating weather in the past months.

Mr Du said: "Many pigs were reported to have contracted respiratory diseases under the cold and moist weather in the past two months and they died after failing to receive timely treatment."

Wu Dachang, a local lawyer, said those who dumped the pig carcasses into rivers and along riverbanks have broken laws and regulations.

"Their actions have polluted the local environment and threatened public health," Wu told China Daily on 4 March.

Agricultural and relevant departments in Guangdong are doing what they can to prevent and fight the disease, Mr Yu said.

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Pamper pigs for better taste
[9 March 2010] Pigs in Zhengzhou, capital of Henan province in cetral China will get a day of rest, pats and music before they visit the slaughterhouse - all this to improve their taste. An official in Zhengzhou said after a long trip, the pigs are tired when they reach the slaughterhouse and the rest will ensure the pork has the best taste and will prevent water-logged pork entering the market. The rules, posted on the Zhengzhou commerce commission's website, state that people who do not follow the rules will be severely punished.

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Pig price drops in Guangdong
[10 March 2010] The price of live pig has fallen to about CNY 10/kg (USD 1.5) this week in Guangzhou, capital of south China’s Guangdong province, following an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease. The city's price for live pig was about CNY 13/kg (USD1.9) in January. A local slaughterhouse worker said many pork traders had reduced the size of their orders because pork had become unmarketable in recent weeks. "Many residents have avoided or reduced consumption of pork after the foot-and-mouth disease outbreak," said the worker. An outbreak involving 1,474 pigs was reported in Guangzhou's Baiyun district at the end of last month. The outbreak led to the culling of 8,382 pigs in the district.

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National Hog Price Weak to Stable
CHINA - Live hog farm prices averaged 9.82 RMB/kg nationally on 10 March, 0.04 RMB/kg higher than the day before. Among 13 major provinces reporting, prices climbed in six and fell in seven.



Hog prices in North-East China averaged 8.66 RMB/kg, 0.28 RMB/kg lower than the day before; 10.04 in North China, 0.20 higher than the prior day; 9.74 in East China, 0.06 higher; 10.42 in Middle China, 0.32 higher; 10.52 in South China, 0.08 higher; 9.60 in South-West China, 0.54 lower.

Hog prices continued to climb slightly in Middle and East Coastal Regions, vibrated and went down in North-East and South-West Regions, according to the Devine Farmer Site.

In general, national hog prices continue to fluctuate and because of diseases and a long term bearish market, producers are sending high numbers to market.

At present the markets is seeing producers make a loss, but the outlook is for an up turn in the market as producers become less willing to sell.

Hog prices are expected to continue gently fluctuate.

Pig Farm Prices in Major Provinces in China
(RMB/kg LW) 
Region Province 10 March 9 March Daily Change Weekly Change
South-West Sichuan 9.60 10.14 -0.54 0.52
South Guangdong 11.02 10.52 0.52 0.58
Guangxi 10.04 10.38 -0.36 0.24
East Jiangsu 9.12 9.14 -0.02 -0.2
Anhui 10.04 9.74 0.30 0.32
Jiangxi 10.80 9.50 1.30 0.50
Middle Hunan 10.08 10.02 0.06 0.12
Hubei 10.38 10.80 -0.42 0.62
North Henan 9.94 9.76 0.18 0.28
Shandong 9.10 9.14 -0.04 -0.18
Hebei 9.72 9.54 0.18 0.00
North-East Liaoning 8.96 9.14 -0.18 -0.22
Jilin 8.46 8.78 -0.30 -0.76
National Avg. 9.82 9.78 0.04 0.04

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Pork Price Plunge in China Persists
CHINA - Since 14 February, national pork prices have continued to drop.



The current post-hip tip pork meat and streaky pork prices have gone down by 12 per cent and 14 per cent, respectively.

According to the agricultural products price monitoring system of Xinhua News Agency, meat and egg prices fell on 27 March compared with the previous day. Vegetables, edible oil and aquatic product prices have seen slight fluctuations. Fruit prices are mainly steady, but a little bit up. Refined grains and dairy prices remain stable.

Throughout all of China's 31 provinces, pork prices have dropped since 14 February.

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Friday, April 16, 2010Print This Page
Latest Pig Prices from China
CHINA - The latest prices for live pigs, corn and soybean meal have just been published.



The latest prices as they appear in the Chinese magazine, Pork Industry Science, are:

  Live pigs (RMB/kg) Corn (RMB/kg) Soybean Meal (RMB/kg)
Beijing 10.1 1.83 3.18
Tianjin 9.8 1.82 3.07
Hebei 9.6 1.84 3.13
Heilongjiang 9.2 1.67 3.27
Jilin 9.2 1.69 3.2
Liaoning 9.2 1.75 3.1
Shandong 9.3 1.85 3.15
Jiangsu 10.4 2.04 3.25
Anhui     3.3
Zhejiang 10.8 2 3.14
Shanghai 10.3 2.1 3.14
Henan 9.3 1.91 3.15
Fujian 10.6 2.06 3.1
Guangdong 11.2 2.02 3.15
Hubei 10 2.06 3.4
Hunan 10.2     
Jiangxi 10.2   3.45
Sichuan 9.35   3.51


 

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Thursday, April 22, 2010Print This Page
Pig Production Down for 10th Consecutive Week
CHINA - The parity between pigs and grain has been lower than the breakeven point for pig production for 10 straight weeks due to consistent drop of pork prices, according to the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC).

A survey by the NDRC showed that prices of pigs, piglets and pork had respectively slumped by 14 weeks, 15 weeks and 13 weeks running. On 7 April, the parity between pigs and grain dipped to five to one, the 10th straight week for the parity below breakeven point of six to one.

Pig prices have begun to rise recently boosted by the government's reserve policy, according to TMCnet.com. The price on 14 April gained 1.2 per cent than that a week earlier, the first price rise in the past four months. However, pig production is still suffering losses.

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China may look to Australia to meet food demands
[29 April 2010] With demand for meat rising among Chinese consumers, it is likely that China may set up large pork and chicken operations in Australia. Paul Meggison and Roy Robertson, speakers at the Australasian Milling Conference in Melbourne last week, said they believed China would turn to investment in Australia as domestic factors such as land shortage, forced the country's authorities to reassess national food production operations. Dr Meggison, the general manager of Ausfarm Nutrition Products, said China would need a huge increase in stockfeed as its meat industry expanded.

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China accepts US pork shipments
[18 May 2010] China has confirmed that it will accept shipments of US pork produced on or after May 1, although the USDA's Foreign Agricultural Service is hoping to adjust the product eligibility date to March 24, 2010 — the date specified in the original agreement to reopen China's market to US pork and pork products. The U.S. pork industry exported nearly 400,000 metric tonnes of pork worth nearly USD 690 million to China and Hong Kong in 2008, making it the No. 3 destination for US pork. Last year, pork exports to China and Hong Kong were down by 38%, falling to just under USD 427 million.