Distribution and intensification of pig production in China 2007–2017

Abstract

Abstract Driven by population growth and rising incomes, the demand for animal source foods in low and middle-income countries is increasing rapidly. Pork is one of the most commonly consumed animal-based food, with the highest demand being in China due to its largest population and changing dietary habits linked to increasing wealth. Here, we show the changes in pig production systems in terms of farms capacity, productivity and production at the national and provincial levels by analyzing several censuses of China. In addition, we used a downscaling methodology to provide a recent and highly detailed map of the distribution of pigs in China. Between 2007 and 2017, pork production in China increased by 26.6%, up to 55 million tons and the number of large-scale farms with a yearly production of over 10 000 heads increased by 145%. Much of the production has changed from extensive backyard subsistence farming to intensive corporate farming. Moreover, the pig distribution has shifted from watercourse-intense southeast to northeast and southwest of China due to environmental policy in 2015. These policy-driven transitions primarily aimed to increase pig production efficiency and reduce environmental impacts and resulted in a profound transformation of geographic production patterns.