Symposium 2021 brings global focus on Chinese hog industry to annual conference
By Bruce Cochrane, Farmscape
The Director of Nutrition and Tech Services with Pipestone Nutrition expects Chinese pork imports to return to pre-African Swine Fever levels by the end of this year due a faster than expected restoration of China's swine numbers.
"What’s Happening in the Chinese Pig Industry?" brought a global focus to yesterday’s 200+ attendees at the virtual Saskatchewan Pork Industry Symposium 2021.
Dr. Arkin Wu, the Director of Nutrition and Tech Services with Pipestone Nutrition, says African Swine Fever (ASF), which hit at the end of 2018, reduced China's sow herd by 30 to 40 percent and the finishing pig inventory by about half but, by the end of 2020, the sow herd had recovered and by the second quarter of this year the market was flooded with finishing pigs.
”Before ASF, China normally imported about one million metric tons of pork products along with about another one million metric tons of edible offals, so together it only consisted of about two to three percent of the total pig supply in China, a fairly small portion. During ASF in 2019 and 2020, imports quickly ramped up to about four million metric tons per year, primarily from South America, Europe and some from U.S.-Canada back then. In 2020 that consisted of about 14 percent of the total pig supply. In 2021, based on the numbers in the first eight months, the import volumes are similar to 2020, last year but I would anticipate in the last quarter of this year the import volume would decrease quite a bit because of an over supply of domestic pigs here in China,” explained Dr. Arkin Wu with Pipestone Nutrition, who got his undergrad degree from Kansas State University, M.S. degree from University of Minnesota, and PhD in applied swine nutrition from K-State.
Dr. Wu joined Pipestone 2019 as a nutritionist for 300k sows and also provide technical service to over 80 farms in both U.S. and China. He recently transitioned to an international position and now based in China and in charge of nutrition and tech service for Pipestone’s Chinese operation.
Dr. Wu notes the goal of the Chinese government is to stabilize domestic production and achieve over 95 percent self sufficiency over the next five to ten years. Dr. Wu also shared some of the new concepts being brought to the forefront in China’s hog production, including multi-level farms.
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