China intends to improve pigs' genetics so they produce more meat and consume less

China in the coming decades will aim to improve the genetics of its hog herd and other livestock so that animals produce more meat and consume fewer grains, a report said on Wednesday.

Compared to developed nations, sow herd productivity is approximately 30 per cent lower in China and the cows only produce 80 per cent of the milk that some of the leaders, Shi Jianzhong, an official with the agriculture ministry’s National Livestock and Poultry Genetic Resources Committee said.

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He added that China is dependant upon imports to produce white-feathered broiler chickens.

The aim behind the move is to reduce China's reliance on imports and generate enough for its massive and increasingly wealthy population, the report by Bloomberg said.

Still, the country will continue to need livestock from abroad to improve its domestic stock to compete with developed nations, Chen Yaosheng, an official at the ministry’s National Pig Genetic Improvement Program said.

This move can save millions of tons of feed grains and ease pressure on land, Sun Haoqin, another official on the livestock genetics committee said.

It will also help the country to shift to industrialized hog and chicken farms, he added.