Current status, challenges and prospects for pig production in Asia

Asia is not only the primary region for global pig production but also the largest consumer of pork worldwide. Although the pig production in Asia has made great progress in the past, it still is confronted with numerous challenges. These challenges include: inadequate land and feed resources, a substantial number of small-scale pig farms, escalating pressure to ensure environmental conservation, control of devastating infectious diseases, as well as coping with high temperatures and high humidity. To solve these problems, important investments of human and financial capital are required to promote large-scale production systems, exploit alternative feed resources, implement precision feeding, and focus on preventive medicine and vaccines as alternatives to antibiotics, improve pig breeding, and increase manure recycling. Implementation of these techniques and management practices will facilitate development of more environmentally-friendly and economically sustainable pig production systems in Asia, ultimately providing consumers with healthy pork products around the world.