China to stockpile frozen pork
China will begin stockpiling frozen pork in an attempt to prop up falling meat prices, China’s Ministry of Commerce announced on May 15.
Stockpiling is planned to begin when the price per kilogram of live pigs remains at between 5.5 and 6 times the price of a kilogram of corn for four consecutive weeks. A state-owned storage facility is currently being built.
China’s pork industry is facing a glut, as the number of live pigs increased 8.5% compared with last year, to a total of 449 million head in March 2009, according to government statistics. Meanwhile, the wholesale price of pork fell to 14.49 yuan per kilo on May 10, a drop of over 22% compared to the beginning of this year.
China’s Sichuan province announced its own frozen pork stockpile plan earlier this month, reported the Chengdu-based West China City Daily newspaper.
In January six ministries jointly announced a plan to increase restrictions on pork imports.
China’s customs statistics showed that pork imports to Guangdong province decreased to 28,000 metric tons during the first quarter of 2009, a drop of 48.4% compared with the same period last year.
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Safe to eat pork says USDA, CDC
The US Department of Agriculture and Centers for Disease Control said it is safe to eat pork.
USDA secretary Tom Vilsack said swine flu can’t be contracted from eating pork as the virus is not transmitted through food.
About 65 people in the US, 1,300 in Mexico, and people in Canada, Europe, Asia-Pacific countries and the Middle East have been infected by the hybrid influenza.
The US National Pork Board, too, has asked producers to increase biosecurity protocol in their farms.
Meanwhile, the World Organization for Animal Health stressed the flu should not be called “swine flu” as it contained avian and human components, according to a Reuters report. Also, there are no reports of pig being infected with it.
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USDA releases 2009 Prospective Plantings report
U.S. producers intend to plant less in 2009 than in 2008, says University of Illinois Extension Economist Darrel Good and according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Prospective Plantings report released March 31. Planting intentions for all crops included in the survey are 7.8 million acres less than acreage seeded to those crops in 2008. Including acreage of hay intended for harvest, the decline is about 7.6 million.
Declines total as follows:
- 4.5 million for wheat
- 1.3 million for sorghum
- 1 million for corn
- 658,000 for cotton
- 446,000 for sunflowers
- 410,000 for peanuts
- 154,000 for canola
For wheat, 75% of the acreage reduction is for winter wheat, even though winter wheat seedings are 791,000 acres larger than reported in January. Intended acreage of soybeans included in the report is 306,000 more than planted in 2008. Intended acreage of all oilseed crops is 672,500 less and acreage of feed grains (corn, sorghum, barley, and oats) is 2.4 million less than planted in 2008.
The complete USDA report can be accessed here.
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China approves Lallemand products
Lallemand Animal Nutrition announced that the company has successfully completed the registration process of two of its key microbial based feed additives in the People’s Republic of China.
Alkosel, the company’s premium source of bioavailable selenium, has been recognized safe and effective, and thereby registered for use as a mineral feed supplement. Monogastric specific probiotic bacteria Bactocell (Pediococcus acidilactici CNCM MA 18/5M) has been registered as a microbial biotic feed additive.
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USDA awards $11 million for animal genomics
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack awarded more than $11 million in grants to 15 states to support research, education and outreach in animal genomics, which is expected to enhance the protection and safety of agriculture and the food supply.
“President Obama understands that to remain globally competitive in the livestock business and to continue to produce safe, nutritious products from livestock requires the application of cutting-edge genetics and breeding programs,” Vilsack said. “Investing in good basic and applied research will help pinpoint genetic differences that result in superior animal products of the best quality for the consumer.”
Successful application of this research will reduce the number and severity of animal disease outbreaks and decrease dependence on the widespread use of antibiotics, said Vilsack.
For a list of universities receiving the grants, click here.
Piglet feed supplements support immune systems
As feed costs rise and the production of ethanol from corn grain increases, swine producers have ramped up their search for new feed supplements for younger swine. According to studies by Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists, feeding dried distiller’s grains (DDGS) to piglets can give their immune systems an extra boost.
The U.S. ethanol industry generates an estimated 10-14 million metric tons of DDGS annually from the milling of corn grain that yields fermentable sugars for conversion into fuel alcohol. The majority of DDGS are fed to beef and dairy cattle.
But livestock producers also use DDGS to supplement the diet of older pigs. So Tom Weber, a physiologist at the ARS Swine Odor and Manure Management Research Unit in Ames, Iowa, partnered with research leader Brian Kerr and microbiologist Cherie Ziemer to study the effects of feeding DDGS to young pigs.
For their research on piglets, the team divided weanling pigs into four groups and fed them either a standard control diet or diets supplemented with DDGS, soybean hulls or citrus pulp. After one week, the researchers observed an increase in cytokine expression in the pigs’ small intestine, which they linked to DDGS consumption. Cytokines are chemical messengers that are essential for proper immune function.
This response reinforced findings of previous DDGS studies showing that pigs consuming diets supplemented with DDGS exhibited reduced levels of ileitis, a common inflammation of the small intestine.
Kerr and others have found that adult pigs can be fed with a corn and soy-meal feed that is up to 40% DDGS. However, piglets are given feed with a maximum DDG content of 7.5%, because their growth may be reduced when they consume too much fiber.
Read more about this research in the February 2009 issue of Agricultural Research magazine.
IGC projects feed grain increase
More grains will be used in animal feeds in the 2008/2009 harvest year with production climbing to a record 1,769 million metric tons following a 12% rise in wheat output, says the International Grains Council (IGC).
Because the overall rise in production would exceed the forecast increase in total use, world carry-over stocks in 2008/2009 are projected to recover 24 million metric tons to a level of 307 million metric tons. Approximately 230 million metric tons of grains will be traded worldwide in 2008/2009, representing a decrease of 8 million metric tons. While there will be a marked upturn in wheat trading, this is predicted to be offset by sharp falls in trade in maize and sorghum, says the IGC.
Ethanol producers are forecast to increase their grain consumption to a total of 126 million metric tons, 29 million metric tons more than in 2007/2008. The total for conversion to biofuel is forecast to include 117 million metric tons of maize (corn).
A decline in planting and reduced yields will likely lead to a smaller wheat crop in 2009/2010, despite generally favorable northern hemisphere conditions, says the IGC, but with no significant fall in stocks.
Pig Processing Updates
- Slaughterings in Denmark by Danish Crown fell 4% to 17.9 million pigs in 2007, accounting for 84% of the total Danish output. Danish Crown announced the closure of another 2 of its plants in April this year as competition for the pig supply intensifies.
- Pig processing facilities costing about US$72 million and capable of generating up to 60 000 tons of pork per year as well as 25 000 tons of red meats are planned by Russian meat importer Meatland Food Group. The 2 slaughter plants it operates at present are leased. Construction of the new plant near St Petersburg will start in the second half of 2008 for completion at the end of 2010.
China is the Place for Profit in the Pig Industry
Intensive, western-style pig production units in China are enjoying enhanced levels of profit despite seeing a significant rise in their input costs.
In round figures, there are 1 billion pigs on our planet. About half of them are located in China. Only 5 years ago, China was looking to become a pig exporting nation. Now in 2008 it has become a major importer. What are the economics and factors that have driven these major changes?
Like most countries, China now suffers inflation pressures derived from commodity-related issues, particularly in food and energy supply. The overall annual inflation rate in China rose in 2006 to 4%, well above the then benchmark 3.4%, and it continued to rise so it was at 5.9% in November 2007 and reached 8.5% by March and April 2008. Rising feed prices were the main contributor to this, up by 23% from a year earlier, while non-food prices rose only 1.6% in this period. Within the food price rises, vegetables accounted for 22% and grains (rice) another 6%, but pigmeat (largely pork) was responsible for 49%.
Pork is the number one meat of cultural choice for Han Chinese, regularly accounting for 70% or more of the meat products eaten. Between 85-90% of the pig carcasses produced are consumed as freshly slaughtered and butchered cuts, prepared in a wide range of recipes. Many of these chosen cuts and dishes confer specific meanings to the meal, such as the consumption of pig trotters prior to a journey and of pig-head skin soup for a celebration.
Even with the country’s official policy of one child per family, the further growth of the population (already over 1.3 billion people) will combine with the urbanization of many more meat consumers in China to further increase this strong demand for fresh pork. Population growth alone would account for a projected pork demand increase of 4% per year. The urban-enhanced incomes would account for a further 3%. In other words, current trends would allow for pork consumption in China to grow at an annual average rate of 7%.
Since 2005, however, there have been major problems in the internal Chinese pork supply to meet this demand. Recent reductions in pork supply have been caused by a series of issues affecting pig production in China. Farmers in all countries tend to be reluctant to discuss their actual costs of production, farm-gate prices and other issues. Chinese farmers are no exception, therefore the analysis of typical figures for production values may often be made only by central administrators.
The federal Ministry of Agriculture in China publishes freely-available figures for pig farm-gate prices, weaner piglet prices and retail prices (these can be found at website www.agri.com.cn). Its month-by-month charts are based on figures supplied by provincial authorities and have been regularly used by internal experts and also outside bodies when discussing pork supply and prices in China. Chinese pig experts also like to use a trend line based on the pig price divided by the grain price as a rough measure of profitability.
Some problems can occur with interpretation of these basic figures. One is the fact that they are averaged across the entire Chinese industry, which is not homogeneous. Small pig farms still form a large sector, probably 50-60% of production. But the pig breeding and farming of western-style pigs and intensive pig farming methods has been encouraged and has dramatically increased across China in the past 10 years. It has risen from only 20% of total national production in 2000 to over 40% now.
The costs and supply issues for each sector—backyard, family or intensive—vary widely. Besides these variations among types of pig production, there is considerable variation around different parts of China in prices along the pork chain. The pig industry in the prosperous south-east provinces around Guangzhou, and the mid-eastern provinces around Shanghai, has a large western-style farm structure with higher prices all along the pork chain. Pig production in other provinces is generally of a lower input and price structure, with lower technical standards, particularly in the north-east. Any agriculture ministry figures, such as for farm-gate price, could therefore differ widely from the reality for a particular commercial pig farm situation.
Local consumer sources supply some comparison data for intensive pig and pork prices across south-eastern China in the past few years. Figure 2 compares the monthly figures given in the Ministry of Agriculture website since 2000 to ones from these other sporadic sources. This chart indicates that the ministry’s overall consolidated reports have somewhat underestimated the farm-gate prices in the south-east China region in recent years, particularly in the more recent, rising-demand situation.
A view of pig costs
Cost of production estimates for the same period obtained from local producer sources suggest that producing each kilogram of finisher pig in eastern China has increased from RMB7 in 2006 to a current RMB10. Of course, most of the rise is due to increased cereal feed costs. However, the rate of increase of pig production costs has not been as fast as for farm-gate prices, which are being pushed higher by the macro-factors of growing demand and lower supplies. This has meant that some pig units have achieved outstanding profit levels, even up to the equivalent of US$100 per pig marketed.
So it is really a great time to be an active major pig producer in China, unlike the situation in many other parts of the world at present. Note also that a typical production cost per kilogram in China can often be only half the amount found in Europe or the USA because of less expensive labor and lower charges for finance and taxation.
It should be made clear these prices and costs refer to the intensive, western-style farming sector. There are also over 40 local pig breeds in China, supplying a wide range of other pigmeat products. Any significant meat retail outlet in China will stock hams derived from Jinhua pigs alongside whole roast pigs of small Xiang breeds and the popular fatty pork obtained from various local breeds such as the Su Tai. While each of these products has a specific price structure, the overall level of their retail prices also is increasing rapidly. For example, the chi taw or whole pig-head skin product has increased from RMB10 to RMB15 in the past year.
A huge number of small pig farms still remain, now chiefly supplying local rural markets. Each of these rural backyarders typically sells only 5-10 pigs per year, usually earning RMB80-100 per pig. These comparatively low farm-gate prices are offset for the farmer and his family by the negligible feed costs (these pigs are fed waste products) and the strong asset protection provided by these livestock.
Pig Feeds to Use Against Molds
Feed strategies against molds
Possible pig feeding actions to deal with the mycotoxins in feed grains that are now suspected of damaging pigs’ immune systems as well as causing problems of low feed intake and retarded growth.
Clinical signs of mycotoxicosis in pigs and other farm animals represent only the tip of the iceberg regarding pig health and performance effects due to mycotoxins, warned Professor Johanna Fink-Gremmels from the veterinary faculty at Utrecht University, Netherlands.
Veterinary problems in a 250-sow Norwegian herd have demonstrated the destructive power of toxins from mouldy feed grains. In this case the answer took the form of a dietary treatment. Other possible solutions for pig units to deal with feed contamination issues were outlined recently to an international gathering of scientists specialised in mycotoxin control.
For a variety of reasons, the meeting heard, moulds and their toxic products are affecting an increasing quantity of feed ingredients worldwide. An assessment 2 years ago that mycotoxins could be found in at least 25% of all grains harvested seems now to be an under-estimate. Climate is thought to be one of the factors responsible, along with changes in farming practices and the growing of susceptible crops.
Pig producers in particular should be wary of a possible contamination in the feed diets they use. Speakers at the 3rd World Mycotoxin Forum, which took place at the end of last year in the Netherlands, were agreed that pigs are the most sensitive of the farm animal species in this respect. Five out of the 300 or more known types of mould toxin are regarded as most relevant to agriculture; the pig is rated first on sensitivity for each of them.
That view has been reinforced by scientific advice given to the European Union’s administrators by independent food safety agency EFSA, the forum was told. Referring to major toxins from the globally important fungal genus called Fusarium, it advised that pigs were significantly more sensitive than poultry or cattle to the effects of deoxynivalenol (usually abbreviated as DON) and zearalenone (ZON). Much the same was true for other Fusarium toxins known as fumonisins, for ochratoxin A (OTA) from an Aspergillus fungus and for alkaloids from ergot.
Clinical signs of illness are observed whenever any of these exceeds a threshold level in the pig’s diet. For example, the vomiting caused by DON has given it the common name of vomitoxin, but pigswill start to refuse feed and show retarded growth once its presence goes above 5-10 parts per million. ZON was described to the forum as the classic textbook model of how oestrogen receptors work. It has oestrogenic (hormonal) effects on puberty and fertility when present at more than 1-3ppm. OTA can give rise to kidney damage with a dietary level of just 200 parts per billion. Typically a European problem from contaminated wheat or barley, at higher concentrations this ochratoxin is blamed for a so-called porcine nephropathy in which the kidneys become shrunken and discoloured as well as losing their function.
One difficulty with any discussion of clinical signs and threshold levels, however, is that both sensitivity and effect are influenced by the age or production stage of the pig. Nursery pigs will be far more sensitive than a gestating or lactating sow for the impact of a Fusarium mycotoxin on their appetite, possibly because the sows have an instinctive drive to keep eating in order to fuel the development of their unborn piglets or their milk production after farrowing. Effects can also be delayed, such as the subsequent stillbirths from sows consuming moldy feed in pregnancy or the disrupted endocrine balance in gilts around puberty due to their consumption of zearalenone at an earlier stage.
