International pig production and implications for Lao PDR

摘要

Over the period 1990-2003, worldwide pig production increased by 37%, with the biggest increases being in Asia. From 1970 to 2003, pig production in Asia increased by 534% compared with 88% in Europe and 58% in North and Central America (Table 1; Windhorst 2004); over roughly the same period, production in Lao PDR increased by about 4%. In 2002 total pork production from the 1.4 million pigs in Lao PDR was about 31,600 tonnes (FAO 2005a). However, this is likely to be an underestimate as the pig population has subsequently been reported by the government to be greater than 1.6 million head in 2002-the correction did not reach FAO before the lower numbers were published.