Stronger fiscal policies to help restore hog production

China will strengthen fiscal and financial policies to restore hog production and increase the market supply of pork, officials said on Thursday.

According to the latest notice jointly issued by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, the Ministry of Finance and China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission, the country will offer more loan interest discounts to pig farms and encourage lowering of the requirement for farmers to get loans.

Jiang Dayu, a senior official with the Ministry of Finance, told a news conference on Thursday that the requirement for loan interest discounts to pig farms will be lowered from a required annual pig output of 5,000 to only 500, making about 160,000 additional pig farms qualified to enjoy discounts in loan interest.

Qiu Tianchao, a senior official with the National Development and Reform Commission, said the country's pork production decreased by 21.3 percent to 42.55 million tons last year due to the African swine fever.

The central government has allocated 300 million yuan ($42 million) to support the expansion and building of pig farms, and the investment will continue to increase this year, he said.

Wei Hongyang, an official with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, said that pork production is showing positive signs thanks to stimulus policies taken since last year.

The pig stock has achieved a month-on-month increase of 2.8 percent in February, the latest official statistics showed. Sow and piglet stock in February also increased by 1.7 percent and 3.4 percent, respectively, compared with January, according to Wei.

The ministry will keep track of the implementation of policies and oversee hog production in the regions on a monthly basis, and make continued efforts to prevent and control African swine fever, he said.