Tibetan pork industry grows with government support

The Tibetan pig, which stands out as a particularly small breed with a narrow head and black coat indigenous to the Tibetan highlands, has become the base for a special industry in Nyingchi city of the Tibet autonomous region, boosting the income of local farmers and herdsmen.

In 2018, the local government helped accelerate the industry's development to the tune of 275 million yuan ($41 million) and established an industrial park in the city's Kongpo'gyada county, a core area for Tibetan pig raising.

From breeding and processing to sales, a complete industrial chain has begun to be formed, and the output value of the industrial park is expected to reach 1.16 billion yuan by 2020. Relevant products such as ham have already been sold to the rest of the country, particularly first-tier cities including Beijing and Shanghai, according to park general manager Xu Pei.

The industry's development has encouraged more local farmers and herdsmen to engage in breeding the Tibetan pig according to the local authorities, with 87,000 pigs stocked in 2018 compared to 65,000 in 2017.

Having adapted to a cold, wild and low-oxygen environment on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, the Tibetan pig is a unique species mainly distributed around valleys in the eastern part of Tibet.

In 1993, the former animal husbandry bureau of the autonomous region officially identified Kongpo'gyada county as a protected area for the original breed. After 10 years of work, the purity and quality of the breed has been highly improved and the market has started to mature.

Believed to contain richer nutrients, higher protein and lower cholesterol than other pig breeds as a result of its special living conditions, Tibetan pigs are usually highly priced, with 500 grams of raw pork going for 200 to 300 yuan.