Recently, the bad weather of rain and snow has brought obvious adverse effects on transportation and logistics, which in turn has promoted the sharp increase in pig prices. A typical example is that at the beginning of this month, pig prices in many places in East China rose rapidly, entering the "9 yuan era". Especially in Shandong, Anhui, Hebei, Henan, Jiangsu and other places, the price of pigs has risen by more than 1 yuan kilogram, showing a strong momentum. In the current market environment, the livestock and poultry breeding chain is still a hot spot. This article will provide an overview of the pig breeding industry, and introduce the competitive landscape and leading combing of the pig breeding industry in detail, bringing readers more insight into the industry pattern.
1. Definition and breeding form of pigs
Pigs are domestic pigs that have not been slaughtered and are not slaughtered, except for breeding pigs, and are usually live pigs that are available for rearing in the market. Pig breeding presents a typical cyclical cycle law: when the number of pigs is increased, the number of sows increases, which in turn promotes the increase of the number of pigs; As demand is exceeded, hogs begin to be raised, a large number of sows are culled, and hogs are reduced until again. China's pig breeding is mainly divided into two forms: free-range breeding and large-scale breeding. At present, free-range farming is still the mainstream, but large-scale farming has gradually developed and expanded, which mainly includes two modes: cooperative breeding of "company farmers" and independent breeding of companies.
2. Advantages and differences of pig breeding mode
In the process of promoting the large-scale development of pig breeding in China, both the "company farmer" and the company self-raising model play an important role, which can ensure the stability of pigs and maintain the smooth operation of the market. Both models also have their own unique advantages. The "company farmer" model has relatively less capital occupation and is more flexible in scale expansion, which can provide employment opportunities and stable income for farmers**; The company's self-raising model is more prominent in pig quality control, food safety assurance, disease prevention and control, and production efficiency, and has higher market competitiveness.
3. Improvement and breeding of pig breeds
With the continuous expansion of production capacity and the promotion of large-scale breeding, domestic pig breeds have also been significantly improved. The proportion of binary fertile sows has increased significantly from about 50% in mid-2020 to more than 93% in 2023. In the context of the increase in the proportion of binary sows, the number of pigs has increased more rapidly, which may slow down the pace of pig production capacity. Ternary pig is one of the widely used breeding plans in China, and its breeding combination is usually A (B C), where A represents the terminal boar (mostly Duroc), B is the maternal parent (mostly Landrace pigs), and C is the maternal parent (mostly large white pigs). There are numerous breeding farms in China and around the world that offer Duroc, White and Landrace sows that vary in genetic quality and health in terms of genetic quality and health status. Academics usually refer to this breeding system as a purebred system or the corresponding commercial pigs as ternary pigs, also known as "Du Chang Chang".
The pig industry chain is mainly composed of five key links: feed production, pig breeding, slaughtering and processing, meat product production and product sales. Among them, farming, slaughtering and meat production are the key cores. In recent years, in order to cope with market changes and enhance their competitiveness, slaughtering and meat processing enterprises have carried out upstream and downstream industrial layout. On the one hand, it extends upstream and sets foot in the field of pig breeding, aiming to reduce the cost of raw materials and stabilize pigs; On the other hand, it is expanding downstream, building a logistics and distribution system, opening specialty stores, etc., to ensure that processed meat products can smoothly enter the sales channel and finally reach consumers.
The pattern of China's pig breeding industry is relatively scattered, and the industry concentration is low. At present, there are relatively few leading pig breeding enterprises and their scale is relatively small. According to the business model and market position of leading enterprises, they can be divided into the following categories:
3.1. Fine breeding enterprises: such enterprises usually adopt advanced breeding technology and management mode, and have a complete layout of the whole industry chain of breeding, including breeding, feed production, breeding and sales. At the same time, such enterprises also pay attention to the environmental protection and safe production of pig farms, and strive to improve breeding efficiency and product quality.
3.2. Large-scale breeding enterprises: such enterprises usually rely on large-scale breeding models and standardized management processes to achieve cost control and scale effects. Through large-scale breeding capacity and unified sales channels, improve the ability and market competitiveness of pigs.
3.3. Leading agricultural enterprises: such enterprises usually have a certain scale and strength, and have a certain market share in multiple agricultural fields. Through their own resource integration and brand advantages, these enterprises further expand the field of pig breeding and achieve a cross-industry strategic layout.
3.4. Traditional farmers: This type of farmers usually rely on the small-scale farming model of the family, and the production scale is small. Although small, these farmers usually have a lot of experience and technology, and they are an important force in the pig industry.
In short, with the continuous growth of market demand and changes in the industry situation, the pig breeding industry will usher in a new round of competition pattern adjustment and industrial upgrading. In this process, leading enterprises with large-scale and refined breeding capabilities will have more competitive advantages and play an important leading and promoting role.