Challenges and Difficulties Facing China's Pig Farming Industry and Its Response Strategies

doi:10.3969/j.issn.1001-0769.2025.02.018

Abstract：Although China is the world's largest producer and consumer of pigs, the pig farming industry faces many challenges and difficulties. In terms of cost, China is at a disadvantage compared to international advanced levels, which stems from inadequate biosecurity, high feed costs, weaknesses in the seed industry, and rising labor costs. Additionally, the reduction in import tariffs on pork has impacted the domestic market. Market prices show cyclical fluctuations due to market expansion and contraction, large-scale breeding, and poor information transmission, leading to reduced market stability. On the demand side, pork consumption has been declining since 2014, with changes in consumers' meat consumption structure and the development of plant-based protein substitutes compressing the market space for pig farming. In terms of meat safety, although the level of drug use is in the global middle range, there is excessive hype about drug residues. The pressure of disease prevention and control is great, with increasing complexity of diseases, the use of low-quality vaccines and veterinary drugs, and early prohibition of antibiotics exacerbating the complexity and difficulty of disease control. Tax incentives and subsidy policies have implementation issues, affecting the support of local governments and the rational allocation of resources. The problem of environmental protection is prominent, with backward technology for heavy metal treatment and inadequate implementation of land matching for manure disposal. This article points out that we should re-recognize the importance of pig farming for rural and farmers' development, advocate moderate-scale breeding and corresponding land for manure disposal, build a new 'three-in-one' industrial ecosystem, find a balance between efficiency and sustainability, and promote the high-quality development of the pig farming industry.