World Hog news:

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Vietnam to boost pig production by 18% in two years
[28 June 2010] Vietnam plans to increase its pig production by 18% to 32 million heads by 2013 through expansion of pig farming in the northern and central parts of the country, according to Nguyen Thanh Son, Deputy Director General of the Husbandry Department. He said Vietnam needs 3.9 million tonnes/year to meet the demand for pork of by it 90 million population. Currently, the country's pork production is only 1 million tonne/year. To  meet the pig production target, Mr Son said the department plans to set up breeding centres in the Red River Delta in the north and central provinces to supply improved breeds and provide technical support for the farmers in these areas.

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Researcher Turns Pig Waste into Fish Food
AUSTRALIA - Pig poo is being turned into food for the aquaculture industry.



According to ABC, South Australian biotechnologist Andrew Ward is breaking down the waste to create methane, irrigation water and nutrients to feed water fleas, which can become fish meal.

Dr Ward says there is big potential for other animal waste too.

He says it is based on methods already used in many Asian countries.

"Basically reproducing what happens in nature. First you grow the algae, then you feed it to the zooplankton and then to the fish - very much like what happens out [in the] natural environment," he said.

"We just pick the things that are most productive and maximise the productivity of them to make it commercially viable."

Dr Ward says fish food created from the waste of land animals could help reduce the environmental impact of aquaculture.

"A lot of the fish meal currently is coming from wild-caught fish stocks so with an ever-increasing demand in seafood and less wild fish out there, aquaculture has to fill this role," he said.

"Now if we're actually catching wild fish to produce this fish feed then we're not really getting there."

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Pork CRC Research Aims to Improve Sow Welfare
AUSTRALIA - Research supported by Australia's Pork Cooperative Research Centre (CRC) suggests changes to how sows are managed and mated in lactation may enable a smooth transition from stalls to group housing, without reproductive performance declining.



Addressing an Animal Welfare Science Centre pig welfare seminar in Melbourne last Friday (9 July), Pork CRC CEO, Dr Roger Campbell said the new technology, developed by Sydney University researchers, formed the basis of a major programme in the CRC's rebid application recently submitted to the Australian Government.



Dr Roger CampbellDr Campbell told the around 50 delegates: "One of the programme's core objectives will be the development of cost effective management and housing systems that have no adverse effects on reproduction or cost of production, but will improve the welfare of sows and their progeny."

The 'Confinement Free Systems' programme will involve leading international researchers, commercial production companies, animal welfare organisations and food retailers.

Dr Campbell said the pork industry had been challenged by animal welfare advocates, retailers and consumers, particularly regarding housing of sows in stalls and the issue needed to be thoroughly debated and addressed fairly by all stakeholders.

However, simply moving to group housing of sows would not necessarily improve the situation or make the industry more viable, he warned.

He explained: "Given the capital costs involved, plus the many unknowns, including the probability of significant declines in reproductive performance, changing housing systems because you are forced to could further hasten the decline of pork production in Australia."

Although early stage, the technologies, developed with Pork CRC support, suggest sow welfare and productivity can be simultaneously improved.

"The proposed research will enable Australian producers to get ahead of their international competitors, because it's likely changes to sow management and housing will occur globally and it's always better to be ahead of the curve than sliding down it," Dr Campbell said.

"We have the opportunity of leading the world and helping ensure Australian pork producers and consumers are rewarded in terms of profitability and the quality and cost of food available."

Commencing his address, Dr Campbell said the Australian industry faced increased competition from pork from Denmark, Canada and the USA, with imported pork already representing 70 per cent of all manufactured pork products currently sold in Australia.

"Without improvements in the efficiency of production and cost competitiveness on a global basis, the Australian pork industry is likely to continue to decline in size and, ultimately, face the threat of fresh pork imports, which could devastate producers by slashing their already tight margins and threatening their future sustainability".

The current Pork CRC has concentrated on improving the efficiency of pork production and the global competitiveness of the Australian pork industry.

"We hope that by reducing the collateral costs associated with pork production that Australian producers will gain market advantages over other meats and those countries exporting pork to Australia," Dr Campbell said.

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Productivity still the prime driver in profitability
[13 July 2010] “There is no doubt that adverse movement in feed costs or pig prices can compromise profitability but in the final analysis they are not the main drivers,” claimed Tony Edwards at the 2010 Pig Feed Quality Conference organised by Asian Pork Magazine and Asian Feed Magazine in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Profits will be low unless productivity is maintained.“The main driver is in fact productivity - irrespective of feed cost or pig prices, profits will be low unless productivity is maintained.”

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Conference told management of piglets should be a key goal
[14 July 2010] The correct feeding and management of the young pig before and after weaning for optimum lifetime performance is a key goal for any pig production enterprise, claimed Professor John Pluske of Murdoch University, Australia, during the 2010 Pig Feed Quality Conference in Ho Chi Minh City. Data offered by Prof Pluske showed that the weight of the pig at birth explains a sizable proportion of the variation in postnatal growth.

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Russian Exporters Have High Ambitions
RUSSIA - Russia wants to export 60 times more poultry meat and pork by 2020.



Russia may export 60 times more pork and poultry by 2020, even as it seeks to build its food security by reducing dependence on imported meat, Agriculture Minister Yelena Skrynnik said yesterday (13 July).

Moscow Times reports that new technologies have made Russian meat more competitive on the international market, Ms Skrynnik said a meeting of the State Council's presidium in the Belgorod region village of Malobykovo.

She said: "We're keeping pace with the times and the technological process. By our estimates, export volumes could be up to 400,000 tons of poultry and 200,000 tons of pork. That's $1.5 billion to $2 billion a year."

This compares with a combined 10,000 tons of exports last year.

Russia – currently among the world's largest meat importers – may become a leader in meat production if it creates the necessary infrastructure, said President Dmitry Medvedev, who chaired the meeting.

President Medvedev explained: "We need to start with something. In that case, Russia will see big prospects to become an influential player at the international food market," stressing that having meat available for domestic consumption would remain the priority.

He signed a new food security doctrine in February, which called for 85 per cent of all meat consumed in the country to be produced domestically by 2020.

According to figures from the Russian Poultry Union, poultry meat production rose 16 per cent in the first half of the year to 1.33 million tons. The group estimated that Russia imported 120,000 tons over the same period.

Minister Skrynnik said in April that meat production would increase five per cent this year, reports Moscow Times.

But the recent heat-wave could spoil Russia's plans this year, with a total of 9.3 million hectares of crops already destroyed.

During a government meeting on 12 July, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin warned farmers against slaughtering livestock, saying that there would be enough grain to feed them.

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, July 15, 2010
Sows Kept in Groups Produce Heavier Litters
NETHERLANDS - Topigs research shows that sows in groups produce heavier piglets.


Reproductive data of more than 40,000 Topigs sows from 59 Dutch farms in the period 2008-2009 show that group-housed sows produce piglets with an average birthweight 61 grammes more than those of individually housed sows. These results are confirmed by various scientific papers.

Welfare regulations mean that from 2013 onwards, sows in Europe must be housed in groups during gestation. These group housing systems allow sows to interact socially and perform behavioural patterns that might benefit their welfare, decrease stress levels and thus positively influence birthweight.

Another possible explanation for the higher birthweights is that group-housed sows exercise more than individually housed sows. Researchers found that sows that exercised a lot during gestation had higher birthweights than sows that exercised little. This could be related to a better blood circulation of the uterus.

A third explanation might be that group-housed sows lose less body energy through radiation in cold seasons as they can huddle together and sometimes straw is used as an insulating material on the floors.

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Finnish Agriculture and Rural Industries 2010 - Pig Meat
Pig meat production in Finland in 2009 was around five per cent below the record output achieved the year before but the volume has increased significantly since the country joined the European Union in 1995, according to Jyrki Niemi and Jaana Ahlstedt of Agrifood Research Finland.


In 2009, pig meat production in Finland totalled 206,000 tonnes, which is 26 per cent more than in 1996. However, the volume last year was 11,000 tonnes or five per cent below the record level reached in 2008. The main reasons for the decrease were the decoupling of national aid, compensation for withdrawal from production and high feed prices in 2007-2008. According to Gallup Food and Farm Facts, in 2010, a little over 210,000 tonnes of pig meat will be produced, which is the lowest output since 2004.

Between 1996 and 2009, the number of slaughter pigs produced rose by 12 per cent to more than 2.34 million, and the average slaughter weight of fattening pigs increase by 6.1kg to 85.8kg. The number of sows slaughtered fell by 20 per cent but hat of fattening pigs increased by 13 per cent.

The size of pig farms more than doubled over the period, and the numbers of farms fell in all size categories except that for the largest farms (more than 300 sows or 3,000 fattening pigs). The number of piglets sold in 2009 was 132,000. Regionally, almost 75 per cent of pigs were fattened in Varsinais-Suomi and Satakunta in southwestern Finland and three regions of Ostrobothnia.

In 2009, pig meat consumption rose to 183,600 tonnes, which is nine per cent more than in 1996. Exports of pig meat totalled 45,200 tonnes in 2009. This is about six times the exports in 1995 but 18 per cent below the record year of 2008.

Finnish pig meat exports were almost equally shared by Russia, EU countries and other non-EU countries. At the end of the 1990s, about 50 per cent of exports still went to Russia. Now, important target destinations for Finnish pig meat products include Sweden and the Baltic States, especially Estonia, as well as South Korea and Japan.

Pig meat imports to Finland totalled 23,400 tonnes, which is about 12.8 per cent of domestic consumption. Pig meat imports tripled between 1995 and 2009. Most of the product came from Denmark and Germany, which has now become the largest supplier. In 2009, more than half of processed meats came from Sweden. The simultaneous increase in imports and exports has been observed in most OECD countries.



Production of beef, pig meat, poultry meat and eggs in Finland from 1995 to 2009
(Information Centre of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry)

Livestock production in Finland from 1995 to 2009
(Information Centre of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry)
Producer Prices
When Finland joined the European Union in 1995, both the price support paid for agricultural products and producer prices decreased. Price reductions were to some extent compensated by increased direct income support. Of the main livestock products, the price of eggs fell the most (-65 per cent) and the price of milk the least (-28 per cent).

The price of pig meat has varied considerably in recent years. The European pig meat market has been affected by a number of factors, including classical swine fever in the Netherlands in 1997-1998, soaring feed prices in 2007-2008 and the eastward enlargement of the EU.

In 2009, market prices of livestock products in the EU influence their prices in Finland but Finnish prices also have special characteristics.

The average producer price for pig meat in 2009 was €1.41 per kilo, which was about two per cent lower than the year before. The average price paid for a 30-kg piglet was €60, which was about two per cent higher than in 2008.



Producer prices for the most important livestock products in Finland from 1999 to 2009, including production support
(€/100kg; milk, €/100 litres. The figures include estimated retroactive payments





Market prices for livestock products in selected EU countries in 2009
(€/100kg)

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Pork Farmers Hit Out at Coles Sow Stall Ban
AUSTRALIA - The New South Wales Farmers Association is concerned Australian pork suppliers will go out of business if major supermarkets ban pork from pigs raised in sow stalls.



Sow stalls are metal cages used to confine animals during their 16-week pregnancy.

According to ABC, Coles has announced that its Australian fresh pork producers will begin phasing out the use of stalls next year, with a complete ban by the end of 2014.

But the association's Malcolm Gett says the local industry will suffer because the ban doesn't apply to international suppliers.

"If they're going to demand that we have no dry sow stalls, I want the same conditions applied to all imported pork so we can compete better with them," he said.

Allister Watson from Coles says the suppliers recognise there is consumer demand for the ban and are supporting the move.

"They're saying that there's some costs and they want a transition period to work through those costs and we're working through those costs with them," he said.

"We'll absorb some of those costs ourselves but certainly

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Less Salmonella Observed in Outdoor Pigs
DENMARK - There is salmonella in over ten per cent of conventional indoor slaughter pigs, in seven per cent of organic pigs, and in only five per cent of outdoor pigs, according to a survey in Denmark.


Given difficulties in achieving strict cleanliness outside, these results are considered to be surprising.

It must be due to the fact that there are other conditions that make up for the infection pressure, and which might be used more widely to fight salmonella, says Anne Wingstrand of the Food Institute of Danish Technical University.

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 Malaysian company launches antibiotic-free eggs using herbs
[9 August 2010] Malaysia's Luheng Agriculture Technology is set to launch what it claims to be Asia's first antibiotic free eggs today. The company's representative Chow Khay Hoong said the concotion of herbs they use in place of antibiotics in their layer diet has been found to prevent infectious diseases among chickens. It took the company two years of research with assistance from their business partners – Beijing Beinong Luheng Sci-Tech Development Co Ltd and China Agricultural University, to produce the powdered herbs using six types of herbal plants.
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Philippine feed production to drop 23%
[9 August 2010] Lack of demand from livestock, poultry and aqua producers will lead to a drop of about 23% in Philippine feed production, a local industry official said, adding that hog production has not picked up but declined as piglet production is also down. Earlier, industry stakeholders projected a 10% decline in production. If demand does not pick up, it is unlikely that local feedmillers will import more raw materials like feed wheat despite the expected drop in local corn production this year.
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Vietnamese Swine Program yields results beyond target
[9 August 2010] With an improving economy and an increased demand for pork driving the growth in Vietnam’s commercial swine sector, Vietnamese swine farmers are increasingly aware of the importance of quality feed supply. Thus agriculture industry representatives from Vietnam who visited the US recently not only learned how to utilise US feed grains like corn, sorghum, DDGS and corn gluten meal in pig feeds, but also purchased equipment, semen, breeding stock and health products. Vietnam’s feed industry is growing at 8-10% yearly and the country has been importing DDGS and corn from the US.

 
 
 
 

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More Farmers Using Rice as Chicken, Pig Feed
JAPAN - Eggs and meat from chickens and pigs that were raised on domestic feed rice are drawing a great deal of attention lately, both as delicious cuisine and a way to help increase this country's self-sufficiency in food.



According to Daily Yomiuri Online, one of the most popular items on the menu at the Rana Cru cafe restaurant in Tsukuba, Ibaraki Prefecture, is a rice omelet priced at 850 yen.

Staff at the restaurant said many customers have asked why the omelet is "white." The answer is that, in general, the color of egg yolks changes according to what the chicken ate. Most chickens are fed with imported corn; therefore the yolks of their eggs are vivid yellow.

But if chickens eat feed that consists mostly of rice, the yolks become paler.

"Everybody's surprised by this explanation," said Rana Cru manager Yusuke Yonezawa.

The eggs used at the restaurant are produced by Seiyo Obata on his chicken farm in Ibarakimachi, Ibaraki Prefecture. Two years ago, when prices of imported corn soared, he began using locally produced rice for feed.

The egg-laying rates on his farm have not changed, and consumers have praised the eggs as having a light, delicious flavor.

Mr Obata's eggs are also sold in Tokyo, through the consumer cooperative Tohto Co-op, under the brand name Sanchoku Esamai Tamago. A pack of six eggs is priced at 198 yen.

"Using feed rice meets the needs of consumers who are highly conscious about food safety," Mr Obata said. "It can also help revitalize local communities."

Despite the comparatively high price of eggs from chickens fed with rice, there have been successful attempts to develop local brands, such as Kometama eggs produced by a chicken farmers cooperative in Aomori Prefecture and Toyo no Kometamago eggs from Suzuki Poultry Farm Co. in Oita Prefecture.

Given their success, more chicken farms are likely to use feed rice in the future.

Pork from pigs fed with feed rice has also appeared. For example, Pork Land Group, a pig farming company in Kosakamachi, Akita Prefecture, has sold pork named Nippon no Kome Buta from pigs that ate feed rice for two years.

Pork sales have been brisk and consumers say the meat is chewy and delicious. This year, the company plans to ship meat from 18,000 pigs, five times the amount last year.

Pal System Chiba, a consumer cooperative in Funabashi, Chiba Prefecture, in April began selling pork from pigs fed with feed rice produced in the prefecture.

The pork costs about 10 yen more per 100 grams than other pork sold by the co-op.

"Rice produced in Chiba Prefecture is given to pigs in the prefecture, and the meat is also processed here," a co-op official said. "Members of the co-op support the cooperation between rice farmers and livestock farmers."

The increasing use of feed rice is expected to raise this nation's self-sufficiency in food. Though 96 percent of chicken eggs are produced domestically, about 90 percent of the feed for the chickens comes from imports.

"The Japanese livestock industry's most important task is to escape from its reliance on imported feed," said Seiji Nobuoka, an associate professor of Tokyo University of Agriculture. "I want consumers to understand the significance of introducing rice as livestock feed."

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Mong  Reththy pig sales grows to USD 1.3 million
[25 August 2010] Pig sales at Cambodian pig producer Mong Reththy Group jumped to USD 1.34 million from January to July 2010, up from only USD 20,000 throughout last year. The products sold during the period include 1400 pure-bred Yorkshire, each for USD 410, and locally bred pigs, each for USD 220. Manager Ly Laville said  Mong Reththy  expects its sales would increase from 700 pigs/month currently to 1000-3000 pigs/month as the demand  for pork in Cambodia is growing very fast. Official figures showed that the pig trade in Cambodia amounted to about two million animals in 2009.

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South Korea initiates pig farm traceability system
[8 September 2010] The Ministry for Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries has announced that it will establish a "nationwide pig farm management system" that will enable a comprehensive farm-to-slaughter management of pigs to improve the farming environment and prevent disease. It said each of South Korea’s 9,500 pig farms will be issued a unique five-digit livestock business registration code. The status of each pig farm will be fed into the Korea Animal Health Information System (KAHIS) run by the National Veterinary Research and Quarantine Service (NVRQS). A system will be established for comprehensive management of changes to pig farm status, provision of vaccines, antibody test results and the imposition of negligence fines, among others.

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Brazil's Pork Exports Continue on the Rise
BRAZIL - Pork exports in August rose in both volume and value compared to the same period last year.



According to ABIPECS, Brazil exported 47,689 tons of pork in August, which is 2.6 per cent less than the same month last year. The average price per ton – $2,431 – was 29 per cent higher than the same month last year. The value of August sales was US$15.9 million, 32 per cent more than the same month last year.

Compared to the January to August period of 2009, pork exports for the year so far are down 7.2 per cent in volume to 361,157 tons, while the value of those sales is up 14.8 per cent at $885.4 million. The average selling prices is up 23.7 per cent at $2,452 per ton.