Now that the Chinese government has given clearance for companies from France to import pigs into the country, French genetics company Nucleus delivered 1,000 pigs from Chalons Vatry Airport in Paris into Najing Lukou International Airport via a Boeing 747 airplane.
The pigs, which were purchased by TrueIn Group, range from 3 to 8 months old and are valued around CNY9.794 million (US$1.59 million), according to a report from Xinhua.
The sows are Large White and Landrance varieties, and the boars are mostly Pietrains. Each sow, on average, produces 28.7 piglets a year, and the boars' feed conversion ratio is around 2.6 -- both numbers reflect the quality of pigs.
Upon arrival, the pigs were immediately rounded up in an isolation and quarantine center for the first round of inspections. Zhou Quan, the airport's customs office chief, explained that the live animal inspection process takes current weather conditions, biological needs, and travel time into consideration when conducting these inspections. The duty-free pig shipment also saved CYN1.448 million in taxes.
China officially opened its market to French pigs and pig products on March 1, following a meeting between China’s President Xi Jinping and French President Francois Hollande. The opening of trade was observed at the 52nd Paris Agricultural Fair, also known as Salon de l’agriculture.
