Finland and China launch agricultural cooperation

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Finland and China signed an agreement on cooperation in agriculture on Monday. Taking part in the event in Beijing was Finland’s Minister for Agriculture and Forestry Juha Korkeaoja and China’s minister of Agriculture Du Qinglin.
     
"The treaty focuses especially on exchange of information in milk production and domestic animal breeding. Above all it opens possibilities for commercial cooperation in agriculture as well", said Veli-Pekka Talvela, director-general at the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry.
      The countries also agreed on exchanging information in the fur animal sector. Finland hopes to educate the Chinese on animal welfare issues as well as environmental questions and quality control.
     
Accompanying the Finnish delegation were leaders of the Finnish Animal Breeding Cooperative, who are looking forward to exporting pigs, cattle, animal semen, and embryos to China, a country whose consumption of meat and dairy products is increasing as its standard of living goes up.
      China has an estimated one billion pigs, and is fairly self-sufficient in agriculture. However, with international cooperation in breeding, the genetic quality of the stock could be improved, and production efficiency raised quickly.
     
Chinese pigs are typically raised in back yard sties of just a few animals each. They grow fairly slowly, get large litters of piglets, and produce great amounts of lard, which is still a prized commodity in the Chinese diet.
      However, Matti Puonti of the Animal Breeding Cooperative is convinced that as China's standard of living increases, the appreciation for lean pork will also increase.
      Matti Puonti says that the quality of Finnish pigs is known around the world.
      Hogs exported from Finland and their descendants are ranked highest in American studies.
      The Finns also believe that they can help China improve its efficiency in milk production. An average Finnish cow produces 8,100 kilos of milk a year, about twice as much as her Chinese counterpart.
      There is considerable competition in the Chinese agricultural market. Australian investors already have a strong foothold there, and Europeans are now trying to catch up.


Links:
  Finnish Food Information Service

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