At the end of May, DanBred chartered three cargo aircrafts and successfully shipped a total of 2,200 purebred breeding animals to China. That is the largest Chinese order of breeding pigs to date, and later this year, DanBred will deliver even more breeding animals to the same customer.
The 2,200 animals are purebred Landrace, Yorkshire, and Duroc. There are 2,000 young females and 200 boars weighing between 25 and 100 kilos. The breeding animals are hand-picked from four Danish DanBred pig breeders: Brandmosegaard, Grubegaard, Molsgaard, and Tybjerggaard.
The many pigs were sold to the large Chinese company Guilin Liyuan Cereal & Oil Feed Co Ltd., which is about to establish a herd with 20,000 sows in the Guizhou Province in Southwestern China.
Rebuilding the Chinese pig population with DanBred breeding animals
– It is the largest order in the industry to date, and the DanBred breeding animals will help rebuild the Chinese pig population. In the past couple of years, African Swine Fever has severely impacted China, and the disease is estimated to have halved China’s pig population, says Thomas Muurmann Henriksen, CEO of DanBred.
Despite this being a historic and record-breaking order, it is by no means the first time DanBred sells breeding animals to China.
– Usually, we ship a maximum of 1,000 animals to China a year. This time, we shipped 2,200 breeding animals in one shipment, and we are very proud of the broad collaboration that made it possible, says Thomas O. Hansen, COO of DanBred.
Increasing DanBred’s presence and activities in China
Thomas O. Hansen believes this record-breaking order is just the beginning, and that DanBred is going to sell even more breeding animals to China in the future.
– It is a very large order, and more are coming. China is in the process of rebuilding its pig population, and, as of June 1st this year, we have strengthened our local team in China further with a National Sales Director and a Technical Services Manager who will help ensure that DanBred gets a share in the high demand we see in China, Thomas O. Hansen says.
– They will also ensure that DanBred’s customers in China have the appropriate management knowledge for handling our breeding animals and make sure that they become a success in China, he adds.
A portfolio of Chinese success stories
The historic order is the latest in a long line of success stories for DanBred genetics in China. For example, in 2014, a relatively small customer and family farm in the Shandong province invested in ten DanBred Hybrid gilts and two DanBred Duroc boars and quickly experienced the massive potential of these animals. With a focused effort and technical support from DanBred about biosecurity, management and nutrition, the family farm quickly grew and PSY results reached 24, at a time when the average for China was 18.
The good news travelled fast, and this farm later hosted a visit from the managers from a Shandong-based feeding company, who was looking to expand into pig production. Having seen in person the potential of the DanBred animals, the company bought 600 Hybrid gilts and dedicated themselves to proper technical support. Ultimately, they have been able to achieve an impressive productivity result of 31 PSY.
This latter success story subsequently sparked even more customers with similar success stories of their own, all of which has paved the way for this historic order of 2,200 animals only six years later.
This timeline speaks for itself, and the high potential of DanBred genetics is now a widespread fact in China. With the current market conditions and the demand for high-quality animals to expand production capacity in China, DanBred is perfectly situated to deliver both superior genetic products and world-class technical services.
For more highlights on the shipping process from loading the animals in Denmark to receiving them in China, please see the photos below.
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