Danish breeding pigs are flying to China again

On the night between the 16th and the 17th of January a jumbo jet with 641 Danish breeding pigs arrived in Nanjing. After six hours in the airport the Danish owned company Scandinavian Farms could pick up the breeding pigs and bring them to their stables at Lianyungang in the Jiangsu province of China, where they were detained for 45 days, before they could be set free from the quarantine stable.

In order to reopen this export from Denmark, negotiations have taken place between The Danish Veterinary and Food Administration and the Royal Danish Embassy in Beijing and the Chinese control authority for import, AQSIQ. The two parties have been trying to find a solution on how to handle the export of pigs from Danish areas, where there within a zone of 50 square kilometres had been an outbreak of H1N1.

A solution was found this year, and China recognized the effective Danish control systems, which cleared the way for a restart of the export of breeding pigs from Denmark to China.

On the 12th of March Ambassador Friis Arne Petersen could see the pigs in Lianyungang. During a visit together with all the Danish Scandinavian Farms investors the new stable facilities and the breeding pigs were showcased.

In addition the construction of the production farm was also inspected and the local government in Lianyungang invited to a meeting at the town hall with a subsequent official dinner.

During the meeting both sides emphasized the fact that China is the World’s biggest consumer and producer of pig meat and at the same time Denmark is known for the country’s expertise and knowledge about pig breeding emphasized by both parties.

“I see big possibilities in a co-operation between China and Denmark in the area of pork meat production. Denmark’s systematic breeding of such as pigs and cattle are amongst the world’s leading. Therefore it makes good sense to export this to the country in the World, where it can be of best use. The Scandinavian Farm project is an impressive and very exciting project, which I am looking forward to following closely,” says Ambassador Friis Arne Petersen.

On the 5th of September 2012 the Danish Minister for Food, Agriculture and Fisheries, Ms. Mette Gjerskov, and the Chinese Minister for Agriculture, Mr. Han Chengfu, signed a contract in order to strengthen the bilateral co-operation in example breeding technology. It is expected that the Danish and Chinese experts and the authorities will meet and discuss the co-operation in the first half of 2013.