14 DAY TRIAL // In order to meet the market's request for quality porcine meat, China decided to import a better quality pig semen from the UK. Britain's government announced that they won the right to export the solicited genetic material, both frozen and fresh, valued at $73 (€53) Million.
The porcine seed will be used for artificial insemination to improve the species genetics and make the industry more productive. Besides this negotiation, China is also working towards a good deal for importing a local delicacy – pig trotters.
UK's swine farmers will provide their best porcine for seed harvesting in order to help improve the world's biggest population's demand. The negotiation's terms state that the deal will commence at the beginning of 2014, with four English insemination centers debuting the first part of the export preparations.
The reasons behind China's interest in UK's porcine is that this particular “pigs grow faster, have a lower fat-to-meat ratio and higher reproduction rates than their Chinese counterparts. UK breeders have sows that could produce 30 piglets each year, while Chinese sows bear fewer than 16,” according to The Guardian. Also, UK's hogs reach the advised slaughter-weight twice as fast as the Chinese ones, bringing a visible advantage.
China holds almost half of the world's pig population, but the quality of the animals doesn't match other countries’ porcine farming. Improving the species' genetics will boost China's efficiency sustaining the growing demand for this type of meat. The most important aspect highlighted in the deal between Britain and China was the quality of the exported seed.
The deal is a big “win-win,” helping both China's production and UK's economy. England is also looking forward to landing another deal concerning pig trotters, considered a delicacy in Beijing restaurants. It may seem America is not the only country praising bacon, China is also making itself known as a big pig meat consumer.