DROBLO y PASPAQUI -Se busca Chart-CHAN-CHIN nuevo indicador de China

La carne de cerdo en China, nuevo indicador económico mundial

El precio de la carne de cerdo en China pronto podría competir con las nóminas de empleo de Estados Unidos como el indicador económico mundial que seguir.

Los inversores internacionales se centran cada vez más en la demanda interna en la segunda mayor economía del mundo como medida clave de la salud económica global.
Y hay pocas formas mejores para medir la demanda que con el seguimiento de los precios alimentos básicos, que golpean directamente el gasto de consumo discrecional, un sector de actividad económica que genera normalmente un 40 por ciento de crecimiento anual del PIB de China.
Una caída o una desaceleración de los precios de los alimentos son un regalo para los consumidores, dice Carl Weinberg, economista jefe de High Frequency Economics en Nueva York.
"No creo que China tenga el riesgo de recesión por el que la gente parece preocupada y no creo que necesite un estímulo", dijo Weinberg a Reuters.
Los cálculos de Weinberg sugieren que los consumidores chinos disfrutaron de al menos un aumento del 1,8 por ciento en la renta real disponible entre julio y noviembre debido a que la inflación de precios al consumidor disminuyó desde un máximo de tres años, con un impulso al gasto discrecional de un 0,9 por ciento.

Ello implica que las fábricas de China aumentarán la producción para satisfacer el creciente poder de gasto discrecional, lo que hace que una desaceleración de los precios de los alimentos sea el factor más importante en el impulso del crecimiento del PIB y la demanda agregada.
"La desaceleración de los precios de los alimentos es un estímulo económico masivo", dice Weinberg. "(Esto) va a generar más estímulos económicos que cualquier otro programa del Gobierno de cambio en la política monetaria", agregó.
La inflación es una preocupación importante para el Partido Comunista chino debido a que los aumento de precios han sido a menudo acompañados de períodos de protestas y agitación social.

El alza de los precios de la carne de cerdo han impulsado constantemente la inflación china. Aunque el cerdo representa sólo el 3 por ciento del índice de precios al consumidor de China, es la carne más popular en el país y su precio tiene un gran impacto en las expectativas inflacionarias del público.
Hasta hace unas semanas, el Gobierno estuvo ajustando sus políticas económicas para contener las secuelas inflacionarias de los 4 billones de yuanes (unos 500.000 millones de dólares) del paquete de estímulo presentado en 2008 cuando la crisis financiera mundial golpeó los mercados y la confianza de los consumidores en todo el mundo.
El incremento de la inflación a una tasa promedio anual de alrededor de 150 puntos básicos por encima del objetivo oficial del 4 por ciento del 2011 es una razón clave por la que Pekín se niega ahora a ofrecer otra cosa más que un "ajuste fino" para combatir la desaceleración del crecimiento del PIB.

Los economistas esperan que la tasa de crecimiento anual de China se haya desacelerado por cuarto trimestre consecutivo en los últimos tres meses de 2011, tal vez incluso entrando por debajo del 9 por ciento.
Esto hace que la historia de la demanda interna sea aún más vital.
El punto fue subrayado por el Ministerio de Comercio de China el jueves, cuando reveló que el superávit comercial del país se había reducido a sólo el 2 por ciento del PIB en el 2011. El superávit era cuatro veces mayor hace sólo cinco años. REUTERS

Esta un poco desactualizado pero la tendencia es clara

Aunque lo parezca... este no es RAJOY

BEIJING (Reuters) - The price of pork in China could soon rival U.S. payrolls as the world's most watched economic indicator.
International investors are increasingly focused on domestic demand in the world's second-largest economy as their key measure of global economic health.
And there are few better ways to gauge that demand than by tracking staple food prices that directly hit discretionary consumer spending -- a sector of economic activity that typically generates 40 percent of China's annual GDP growth.
Lower or even just slower food price rises are a gift to consumers, says Carl Weinberg, chief economist at High Frequency Economics in New York .
"I don't think China has anything like the recession risk that people seem concerned about and I don't think they need any stimulus," Weinberg told Reuters.
Weinberg's calculations suggest that Chinese consumers enjoyed at least a 1.8 percent increase in real disposable income between July and November as consumer price inflation eased from a three-year high, with a boost to discretionary spending of 0.9 percent.
The implication is that China's factories will ramp up output to meet rising discretionary spending power, making slower increases in food prices the most important factor boosting GDP growth and aggregate demand.
"The slowdown of food prices is a massive economic stimulant," Weinberg says. "(It) will generate more economic stimulus than any government programme of monetary policy change ever could."
Inflation is a major preoccupation for China's ruling Communist Party, as rising prices have often been accompanied by periods of protest and social upheaval.
Spikes in pork prices have constantly driven up Chinese inflation. Though pork only accounts for 3 percent of China's consumer price index, it is the most popular meat in the country and its price has a big impact on the public's inflationary expectations.
Until a few weeks ago, the government's economic policies were calibrated to contain the inflationary aftereffects of the 4 trillion yuan ($635 billion) package unveiled in 2008 as the global financial crisis tore through market and consumer confidence worldwide.
Inflation running at an average annual rate around 150 basis points above the official 4 percent target in 2011 is one key reason why Beijing is reluctant now to offer anything other than policy "fine-tuning" to combat slowing GDP growth.
Economists expect China's annual growth rate to have eased for a fourth successive quarter in the last three months of 2011, perhaps even coming in below 9 percent.
It makes the domestic demand story all the more vital.
The point was underlined by China's Ministry of Commerce on Thursday, when it revealed that the country's trade surplus had shrunk to just 2 percent of GDP in 2011. It was more than four times that size just five years ago.
EXTERNAL DEMAND SHOCKS
Successive demand shocks from the global financial crisis of 2008/09 and the festering European debt crisis have also reinforced the determination of China's Communist Party to rebalance the economy away from exports. It needs robust consumption growth at home to do that.
The trade-off for the global economy is that Beijing is pledging to ramp up imports to help deliver its domestic growth agenda -- great news for both Europe and the United States. that could use vibrant demand from China to pay debts and bridge deficits.
It's already a force to be reckoned with, according to Jeremy Stevens, China economist at Standard Bank in Beijing.
"Over the past two years, twice as much domestic demand has been created in China ($2.4 trillion) than in the euro zone ($1.2 trillion). Over the next two years, China is likely to contribute more to global domestic demand than the euro zone and the U.S. combined," Stevens said.
Retail sales have been one of the most consistently robust economic indicators in China in 2011 and, absent a seasonal slide in February, have averaged annual growth of some 17 percent every month.
Analysts at Citi have high hopes that China's pace of urbanization will fuel both that growth as well as retail sector profits. Beijing's 12th Five Year Plan targets an urban population of 51.5 percent by 2015 versus 2009's 46.6 percent.
"Per capita household consumption in urban households in China had been 3.6-3.8 times higher than rural household consumption between 2003 and 2009," they wrote in a client note, pointing out that grocery shopping is China's largest retail segment, accounting for 41 percent of all retail sales in 2010.
That's a crucial point for HFE's Weinberg who estimates non-farm workforce growth of 2-4 percent a year.
That equates to 10-20 million people moving to the modern economy experiencing annual income growth of up to 400 percent and contributing between eight to 20 percentage points to the growth rate of aggregate incomes.
PROPERTY PAIN
But while domestic consumption is a salve to ease the pain of decaying external demand, the fly in the ointment is the falling price of property.
Rising home values have been closely correlated with rising consumer spending, which makes a private sector survey showing the fourth successive monthly fall in average house prices in key Chinese cities a clear risk for investors.
Home prices and sales are falling because of government measures to rein in rampant speculation, measures which Beijing has promised to follow unswervingly to make home prices "reasonable".
Meanwhile the government has embarked on programme to build affordable housing.
Furnishing millions of new homes -- the official Xinhua news agency says 5 million are slated for completion in 2012, versus estimates of 3 million in 2011 -- could give substantial impetus to consumer spending, especially if the government also introduces new measures to support the purchase of consumer durable goods, such as electrical appliances, which the China Daily reported this week.
Ultimately, China has to find a way to engineer sufficient growth to keep people in jobs and shift those employed in the export sector into industries supporting internally-driven value-added production, not simply into jobs tied to the conspicuously speculative investment bubble, which has seen real estate prices surge 10-fold in the last decade.
"The potential for further growth in domestic demand remains extraordinary," economists at Berenberg Bank in London wrote in a research report, pointing out that at $7.1 trillion, Chinese GDP remains less than half of that in the United States.
"More and more households are joining the urban middle class, adapting their saving and consumption behavior to that of their counterparts in more advanced countries. Bar a major political crisis, China looks set to remain the growth engine of the world."
(Editing by Kim Coghill)

La producción de todos los principales productos agrícolas de China habrá registrado un aumento por primera vez en 16 años en 2011, informó hoy miércoles el ministro de Agricultura, Han Changfu.
Cálculos preliminares apuntan a que la producción de verduras y frutas del país alcanzará este año 677 millones y 142 millones de toneladas, cifras que representan crecimientos anuales del 4 y del 8 por ciento, respectivamente, indicó Han en una conferencia central anual sobre trabajo rural.
La producción de carne, aves de corral y huevos así como productos lácteos habrán subido un 0,3, un 0,4 y un 2,1 por ciento, respectivamente, frente al año pasado, mientras que la de productos acuáticos habrá incrementado un 4 por ciento para llegar a 56 millones de toneladas, indicó el ministro.
Además, tanto la calidad como la seguridad de los productos agrícolas chinos han mejorado considerablemente, con un aumento de las tasas de aceptación de los productos vegetales y acuáticos del 97,4 y del 96,8 por ciento, respectivamente, según el alto funcionario.
Han dijo que el país ha adoptado una serie de medidas para garantizar un suministro estable de productos agrícolas y reforzado las inspecciones para garantizar la seguridad de los alimentos.
Según el ministro, la cartera trabajará para incrementar la producción de verduras, garantizar el abastecimiento de carne de cordero y res en las áreas habitadas principalemente por grupos étnicos así como intensificar el monitoreo de la producción de la carne de cerdo y de los cambios en el mercado con el fin de evitar unas reducciones excesivas de los precios de la carne porcina el año que viene.

EXCELENTE INFO!!!! (Y graficos)

Ampliacion (en ingles).


China Hog Markets in January 2012

CHINA - Looking at the size of the breakdown of the inventory for November 2011-breeding stock was around 49.05 million and total on farm inventory was around 476.25 million (as compared to October 2011-breeding stock was around 48.80 million and total on farm inventory was around 475.16 million and to September at 48.1 million and total on farm inventory was about 465.57 million), writes Ron Lane, senior consultant for Genesus China.


This also shows growth since May 2011—breeding stock was around 47.1 million and total on farm inventory was about 453 million head). The 476.25 million head for November is up 2.82 per cent from last year while the November sow inventory is up 2.01 per cent from last year (year over year). A steady increase in sow inventory has occurred since March 2011.

For the week of 12 to 18 December, the national average market pig price was 16.39 RMB/kg ($ 2.59 US/kg) liveweight; the average piglet price was 27.42 RMB/kg ($ 4.34 US/kg) liveweight; the average corn price was 2.21 RMB/kg ($0.345 US/kg); the average soybean meal price was 3.21 RMB/kg ($0.508 US/kg); pig and corn ratio is 7.42:1 and the average pork price was 22.95 RMB/kg ($3.63US/kg). The average pork price is up 1.10 per cent from last week.

Profit margins continue to show good returns. Estimated profit margin for June 2011, was around 770 RMB/market pig -$119.10 US and was the peak price. Profit margin for August was estimated to be 721 RMB/market pig -$112.83 US. Profit margin for October was estimated to be 659 RMB/market pig -$103.62 US. Profit margin for November was estimated to be 447 RMB/market pig -$ 70.06 US. For December, the profit margin is estimated to be 520 RMB/market pig -$ 82.27 US.






Price /profit predictions for 2012 include: pig price of 16.6 RMB/kg
liveweight ($ 2.60 US/kg liveweight); average price of corn at 2,500
RMB/tonne ($ 391.85 US/tonne); pig and corn ratio of 6.93: 1 and average profit of 350 RMB/market pig ($ 54.86 US/ market pig).

Short term scenario





Industry estimates that pig prices will not fall to much further for the next few months ( through Spring Festival (23 January 2012) and many predict that the price will stabilize to around 18 RMB/kg liveweight ($2.85 US/kg liveweight). There are several recent trends to support this optimism.

1. Tight supply as small backyard farmers exit from the market and farming in general and relocate to the large urban centres to work. (China Ministry of Agriculture just released the next 5 year plan for agriculture development-12th Five-year Plan (2011-2015). It is estimated that 40 million rural labourers will leave farm jobs during this five years—many of them were former backyard pig farmers).
2. Large farms are not able to keep up with the demand.
3. During the past year, a piglet diarrhea has caused high mortality (especially 10 day old pigs). Initially the disease was noted in the southern part of China. During December, 2010 to March 2011, the problem was prevalent. Many sows were rebred in the Spring of 2011. This has caused part of the decrease in the current price as the market pigs from the rebred sows are now coming to market (predicted large short-term slaughter). However, this increased supply may taper off over the next few months.
4. Because of the fear of the piglet diarrhea occurring again this December period, many farmers are selling their stock to avoid repeat losses.
5. Again, but more recently (July and August) in the North Central parts of China a similar problem has occurred as a wet July and August, lead to more farms having a high piglet death loss. This could cause lower pig supplies around the increased demand period just prior to Spring Festival (this could cause a spike in market pig prices).
6. The next month represents a "comparatively concentrated" holiday season starting with the Winter solstice (21 December), then Christmas (25 December), New Year (1 January) and the Chinese Lunar New Year ( 23 January). This puts pressure on supply.

What to watch for over the next few months!!!

• In February, 2011, the pig and corn ratio was 7.12:1; was 7.07:1 for March and was 7.63:1 for May. In September, the ratio was 8.24:1 and in October, the ratio was lower to 7.45:1 per market pig. Now for November, 2011, a pig to corn ratio of 7.42:1 is shown. This is slightly lower than last month, but analyst believe that this ratio will be maintained at this level for the next while. A pig to corn ratio of 6:1 is considered to be break even. With continued Government incentives and "now reasonable profit margins", pig expansion in China will continue.
• The Consumer Price Index (CPI) continues to be quite interesting for the National Government. Previously, when the pork prices were gaining, this rapid increase in pork, gained the attention of the National Government as it greatly affects the CPI. The CPI is made up of about 30 per cent food found in the consumers’ basket. Pork is estimated to be about 1/3 of the food portion of the basket or in other words, about 10 per cent of CPI as a whole. Just to sense the impact that pork has on the CPI, reports show that food prices increased by 13.4 per cent in September versus one year ago. This has an impact of 4.05 per cent points. At the same time, pork rose by 43.5 per cent and this affects the overall CPI at a level of 1.24 per cent points. Now with around a 15 per cent drop in pork prices since mid- September, the CPI is also decreasing. Currently, inflation is around 5.5 per cent for October, 2011. This is a drop from the high of 6.5 per cent in July, 6.2 per cent in August and 6.1 per cent in September. CPI for November was estimated to drop further to about 5.0 per cent. In reality, the measurement was 4.2 per cent. Food prices increased by 8.8 per cent in November compared with one year ago. Pork prices declined by 5.3 per cent from October 2011. "The pork I just bought cost 21 yuan ($3.30 US) a kilogram, a good deal less than the 30 yuan ($4.75 US) it cost about 4 months ago," said Yang Xia, a 62-year-old retired worker shopping in a Beijing supermarket.
• Ministry of Agriculture said recently that total meat production for 2011 is expected to increase 0.3 per cent to 79.5 million tonnes (lower than last year's 3.6 per cent rise). Pork is almost two-thirds of China's total meat consumption. China produced 54.53 million tonnes of meat in the first nine months of the year, up 0.2 per cent (year over year). Pork production in the January-September period fell 0.6 per cent to 35.68 million tonnes.
• Although China’s domestic supply of pork is showing growth, imports of pork are expected to rise by 8 per cent in 2012. This is mainly due to rising demand. An USDA report suggests that total meat production for China will be around 81.4 million tonnes (a 3 per cent rise year on year) for 2012. Pork output will reach 51.3 million tonnes, poultry will be around 18.7 million tonnes, beef will be around 5.70 million tonnes (note: beef consumption continues to decline) and sheep meat will be around 4.88 million tonnes for next year. Government incentives and/or subsidies to farmers contribute the most for this increase.

For the first 9 months of this year, China imported 870,000 tons of pork and pork by-products—mainly offals. This represents an increase of 44.6 per cent from a year ago. Total imports for 2011 will slightly exceed 1 million tonnes (could be between 1.1 and 1.4 tonnes) which surpasses the previous high of 910,000 tons imported in 2008. In September, import volume set a new record of 0.14 million tonnes. For 2012, China’s deficiency between pork supply and demand could be between 2 and 2.5 million tonnes (Rabobank report). Of this total, demand will cause pork meat imports to increase by about 8 per cent to 480,000 tonnes next year (not including pork by-products but this is only pork meat).
Sources fromChina’s Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ) said that it had recently found Salmonella in some pig heads imported from Denmark. AQSIQ said it will destroy the contaminated pig heads. There have been a growing number of imports of unqualified pork variety meats during this time period.
In January 2012, Aurora Cooperative projects that it will initiate a sale of 10,000 tonnes of pork from Brazil. Brazil usually exports about 50,000 tonnes/month and thus, the 10,000 tonnes along with a continuous demand by China, could be as much as 20 per cent of the total export potential from Brazil. China would be Brazil’s second largest importer of pork in the next year.
China’s animal health industry is growing by an annual average of 25 per cent per year since 2005. In 2012, the industry will generate close to 40.2 billion RMB ($6.36 billion US). In the world, China is second to the USA for the production of animal health products. Growth will continue to rise as domestic livestock production increases and a national concern over the vaccination of such diseases as PRRS and Foot-and-Mouth, along with Swine and Avian influenza continues and mandatory vaccination is enforced.
The Delisi Group has introduced their latest creation in the cured meat production unit of their modern chilled pork and processed meat section in Shandong province. They have introduced a cured ham product called 'Paluosi'. "We expect the launch of our new product to be a good start for us to enter into the premium meat market," said Chairman, Zheng Heping. The cured ham is created using modern equipment from Italy. The ham is initially priced at 500 RMB/kg ($79.10 US/kg). This price is close to 20 per cent less than a similar imported product. Delisi Group will target high end hotels and foreign-invested supermarkets and is currently testing in markets in Beijing, Qingdao and Jinan.
According to the Ministry of Agriculture, scaled pig production (greater than 500+ finishers per year) now accounts for 34 per cent of the total output of pig production in China.

Thursday, February 16, 2012

China Hog Markets

CHINA - Looking at the size of the breakdown of the inventory for November 2011, breeding stock was around 49.05 million and total on farm inventory was around 476.25 million (as compared to October 2011, breeding stock was around 48.80 million and total on farm inventory was around 475.16 million and to September at 48.1 million and total on farm inventory was about 465.57 million), writes Ron Lane, Senior Consultant for Genesus in China.


The 476.25 million head for November is up 2.82 per cent from last year while the November sow inventory is up 2.01 per cent from last year (year over year). Sow inventory has increased for seven consecutive months. The 2011 total farm inventory is up about 4.9 per cent or over 22.5 million head versus 2010. For 2012, total farm inventory is projected to increase by 5 to 6 per cent.

Profit margins continue to show good returns. Current profit margins are flat with December at 518 RMB/market pig-$ 82.22 US. Estimated profit margin for June 2011, was around 770 RMB/market pig -$119.10 US and was the peak price. Profit margin for August was estimated to be 721 RMB/market pig -$112.83 US. Profit margin for October was estimated to be 659 RMB/market pig -$103.62 US. Profit margin for November was estimated to be 447 RMB/market pig -$ 70.06 US.

Price /profit predictions for 2012 include: pig price of 16.6 RMB/kg liveweight ($ 2.60 US/kg liveweight); average price of corn at 2,500 RMB/tonne ($ 391.85 US/tonne); pig and corn ratio of 6.93: 1 and average profit of 350 RMB/market pig ($ 54.86 US/ market pig).

In 2011, the national average live pig purchase price was 17.1 RMB/kg ($ 2.71 US/kg) up 45 per cent from 2010. September, 2011 with an average monthly price of 20.0 RMB/kg ($ 3.17 US/kg) was the peak price; whereas, November at 16.0 RMB/kg ($ 2.54 US/kg) was the lowest monthly average.

The December, 2011 average carcass price from large scale slaughterhouses was 22.96 RMB/kg ($ 3.64 US/kg). Data from the large cities in China showed the average live hog purchase price to be 17.01 RMB/kg ($ 2.70 US/kg). The price difference between meat price and live purchase price is 5.95 RMB/kg ($ 0.94 US/kg). Live hog slaughtering profit slightly decreased to 170 RMB/head ($ 26.98 US/head).

In November, China imported over 75,400 MT of both fresh and frozen pork (an increase of 41.9 per cent from the previous month and up 2.1 times from November 2010). The average pork CIF price was 13,230 RMB/MT ($2,100 US/MT). This is up 5607 RMB/MT ($ 870 US/MT) from November 2010. From January to November 2011, China’s total pork meat imports were 378,200 MT., up 120 per cent year on year. The principal sources for imports come from: USA (203,008 MT- 53.7 per cent of the total); Denmark (49,500 MT-13.1 per cent of the total); Canada (41,521 MT-11.0 per cent of the total), Spain (36,143 MT-9.6 per cent of the total) and France (22,569 MT-6.0 per cent of the total). Imports from the US are up 980 per cent from last year.

What to watch for over the next few months!!!

• In February, 2011, the pig and corn ratio was 7.12:1; was 7.07:1 for March and was 7.63:1 for May. In September, the ratio was 8.24:1 and in October, the ratio was lower to 7.45:1 per market pig. In November, 2011, a pig to corn ratio of 7.42:1 was shown. For January, 2012, a 7.79:1 ratio is calculated. A pig to corn ratio of 6:1 is considered to be break even. With continued Government incentives and "now reasonable profit margins", pig expansion in China will continue.

• The Consumer Price Index (CPI) continues to be quite interesting for the National Government. Previously, when the pork prices were gaining, this rapid increase in pork, gained the attention of the National Government as it greatly affects the CPI. The CPI is made up of about 30 per cent food found in the consumers’ basket. Pork is estimated to be about 1/3 of the food portion of the basket or in other words, about 10 per cent of CPI as a whole. Currently, inflation is around 4.5 per cent for January, 2012. This is a drop from the high of 6.5 per cent in July (37 month high). CPI for November was 4.2 per cent and was 4.1 per cent for December. Food prices increased by 10.5 per cent in January compared with one year ago. Pork, China’s staple meat source soared 25 per cent year on year in January. The main factor for the CPI increase is related to the Chinese Lunar New Year in late January. Analysts expect that the CPI will pull back in February to about 3 to 3.5 per cent. Food prices that represent 1/3 of the CPI basket contributed to 3.29 per cent of the total portion of inflation in January.

• IMF cut its forecast for China’s GDP growth for 2012 to 8.25 per cent from 9 per cent projected in September 2011.
• According to the news website of the Ministry of Industry, Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Commerce, Ministry of Health, SAIC, General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ), the six ministries jointly issued a notice to announce the banning of the production and sale of ractopamine. Commonly known as "lean", ractopamine (or often called clenbuterol) can increase the growth rate of the muscle tissue. Farmers have used clenbuterol before and on March 15th, 2011, China’s largest meat processor, Shuanghui (Shineway Meats) sold pork that contained clenbuterol. The illegal use of clenbuterol had a limited effect on current live hog market prices, but its use will have a long term effect on food safety measures. As early as 2009, the Commerce Department issued a notice to prohibit the import and export of ractopamine and ractopamine hydrochloride. (BEIJING, Commercials, 23 December 2011)
• Wuhan Municipal Price Bureau (February, 2012) released the hog cost data for the second half of 2011. A survey of 23 pig farmers, estimated that per head net profit was 311.85 RMB ($ 49.50 US/pig). The Bureau also predicts that, with the hog market supply and demand changes in the first half of 2012, pork prices will drop slightly.
• The national average corn price for 2011 was 2.30 RMB/kg ($0.365 US/kg). This is up 0.30 RMB ($ 0.048 US/kg) or 15 per cent from 2010. Since 2009, average corn price is up 60 per cent. New corn entering the market and with total corn output calculated, then it is predicted that total available corn for consumption to increase by about 8 per cent over last year. From this current corn prices have declined recently from 2.6 RMB/kg ($ 0.413 US/kg) to 2.35 RMB/kg ($ 0.373 US/kg). It is expected that average corn prices will generally trend upwards through 2012.
• China’s grain output in 2011 climbed to a record high of 571.21 million tonnes, up 4.5 per cent year-on-year. This is the eight consecutive year of upward growth (National Bureau of Statistics). The 3 major grains- corn, wheat and rice – hit 510 million tonnes this year. It was predicted that the country's grain output would reach a record high of more than 550 million tonnes this year. Experts suggest that the growth of China's grain output may not continue this year. Factors such as limited farmland and application of technology along with climate change can have a large impact of the sustained growth in yield.
• According to the Ministry of Agriculture, scaled pig production (greater than 500+ finishers per year) now accounts for 34 per cent of the total output of pig production in China. Pig farming by backyard farmers is declining rapidly (from 72.8 per cent in 2002 down to an estimated 38.7 per cent of total production in 2009). On the contrary, scaled or larger farms continue to expand and slaughter larger volumes. It is predicted that farms with the scale of 500-49,999 head for slaughter will account for more than 71.5 per cent of total production in 2020. As well, it is estimated that one thousand farms will be the main production base in China.
• Best Genetics, a Chinese swine genetic company and Genesus Inc., one of the top swine breeding companies in the world, signed a cooperative agreement on Feb. 9th, 2012 at the 5th Canada-China Business Forum. This agreement stipulates the purchase of top pedigree pigs and Genesus will provide continued genetic program support. With this cooperation, China will have lean meat, safe, high quality pork at an affordable price. Best Genetics has adopted western barn facilities and management processes employs the best genetics from the world with the objective of becoming the best genetic company in China. The contract was signed under the witness of Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Minister of Agriculture Mr. Gerry Ritz, Mr. Xia GuoHua from Songshan District Chifeng city, where Best Genetics build the first Airworks, also came to celebrate the signing ceremony. The contract was signed by Mr Mike Van Schepdael , shareholder and Vice President of Genesus, and Ms Monita Mo, Chairwoman of Best Genetics.

*

r

*

*

*