60-year-old Li Yongqiang, a villager of Sungezhuang Village in Shunyi (a suburb of Beijing) began to raise pigs in 1989. From a paltry beginning with a few dozen pigs, to his current 4,000 heads, he has truly come a long way.

On August 4 this year, the evening television news showed Premier Wen Jiabao inspecting a farm produce supermarket. According to the report, the price of pork had risen from 15 yuan per kg in May to the present 20.3 yuan. When Li saw this, he was struck by the thought that pork prices had escalated wildly this year, and that raising pigs was just like buying stocks, with high risk, high investment and a potential high income.

Opening his account

In 1989, Li decided to contract a pig farm, a risky move by any accounts. At a time when pork was being sold to the State at a mere 3.72 yuan per kg, he made 60,000 yuan that year.

Since he had no experience with pig breeding, he sought expert advice from some of his friends. In addition, he learnt to find excellent varieties and the best fodder. The number of pigs in his farm increased to a record of 7,000 heads in 1990. The price rose to 10.2 yuan per kg in 1997, resulting in a profit of 2.1 million yuan.

Floor price in 2002

Li bought a batch of pigs in 2002, but the price of pork then took a steep dip. He had to sell his house, losing several thousands of yuan in the process. But he persevered with pig breeding, trusting that prices would soar again. His prediction came true in 2004.

Selling pork at a price much lower than its cost in 2006

In 2006, however, his career suffered another blow, when there was an outbreak of blue ear disease. A great number of his pigs died suddenly, topping 40 a day. He needed more than 10,000 yuan to spend on daily fodder. The price of pork at that time was extremely low; for every pig sold he had a loss of over 100 yuan. He sold over 5,000 heads, losing over 600,000 yuan. There were 80 pig-breeding households in the village then, but most of them could not bear the loss, giving up one career for another. There are only a dozen of them left now, including Li.

Ceiling price in 2007

"I've become rich," says Li now. He expects his profit this year to exceed 1.5 million yuan at least, since the demand for pork has far exceeded the supply. Currently, each head of pig is valued at 1,500 yuan, three times more compared year on year, due to the plague of blue ear disease and the fact that many pig-breeding households have quit the realm.

The future of pig breeding

Li believes pork prices should be determined by the market, and not regulated by authorities. He hopes the government will help villagers set up a pig-breeding foundation or association, so that every household is able to buy fodder with a lower price. Association members can then help each other when they are short of money, so as to evade last year's situation when many of them had to quit the sector due to lack of funds.

"In fact, I don't like the current high price because that makes me feel upset," Li says. "I hope the prices are kept at a stable mid-level, so we can earn money and people can afford to eat pork at the same time."

(Source: Beijing News, edited and translated by LI YUZHU)