According to the Taiwan pig farming industry survey of May 2001, the number of pig farms totaled 14,764, raising a total of 7,392,952 pigs or 501 pigs per farm.
The output value of pig farming for the last three years of 1998, 1999 and 2000, reached NT$48.8 billion, NT$61.4 billion and NT$52 billion, respectively, topping the list of single agricultural product output value and accounting for 14.28% of the total agricultural production value in 2000.
Unfortunately, the industry has been dealt a serious blow when the pork export was brought to an abrupt end with the outbreak of FMD in March 1997. In light of the need for industrial restructuring in the aftermath of FMD and to prepare for the WTO accession, the government has assisted a total of 5,070 owners of small-scaled or uncompetitive pig farms to undertake business transformation, in an effort to lead the industrial transition and to enhance the competitiveness of the industry. This not only helped reshape the industry, but also stabilize the domestic market, particularly in the face of strong foreign competition with imports of 5,000 metric tons of pork bellies and other cuts and 7,500 tons of pork offals as down payment the government committed during WTO preaccession negotiations.

Recent Initiatives and Achievements

1. Established a high-quality "Taiwan Black Pig" production system, concentrating on the production and promotion of a selected breed, dubbed "Taiwan Black Pig No.1," and implemented a central testing and grading system for Taiwan black pigs.
2. Established a boar semen supply center and a promotional system to help increase artificial fertilization rate on local pig farms.
3. Established a system of contract production and marketing to help promote industrial alliances and cooperation between the "Taiwan Precious Pig" and the Supermarket Black Pig brand-name producers, and encouraged cooperative procurement of equipment and materials to make sure that farmers benefit from the economy of scale, technology upgrading, and effective production and sale.
4. Promulgated standards of environmental protection, and normal procedures of feeding and management, and established a certification and inspection system to ensure the safety and quality of domestic pork products.
5. Established a product branding system for domestically produced quality pork to help develop a market-oriented pig industry in Taiwan. Such market awareness will prompt the industry to apply more food processing technologies and to add value to their products, which in turn will translate into big profits for farmers.
6. Assisted meat product markets to join forces with farmers' associations in order to make better use of slaughtering facilities and to establish carcass cutting centers; assisted meat markets to transform into fresh meat distribution centers and to develop a selling network through strategic alliances in order to flatten the transportation and marketing hierarchy of pork and relevant products.
7. Reinforced the gathering and dissemination of selling and exporting information in order to issue necessary production and marketing warnings and thus ensure market stability.
8. Provided guidance for pig farmers, rendering plants and slaughtering houses on the disposal of pigs died suddenly of unknown reasons and on the treatment of solid waste such as sludge, pig hair and pig hoofs.

Future Plans and Tasks

1. Develop a hygienic, safe and humanitarian slaughtering system, and Develop a hygienic, safe and humanitarian slaughtering system, and consumers to purchase domestic pork products.
2. A. Improve training programs, such as production and marketing classes, and strengthen both vertical and horizontal integration among livestock farmers' associations for resource sharing and efficiency enhancement in production and marketing.
3. Establish a pig farming industry whose planned production always meets the market demand and whose productivity and competitiveness is constantly improving.
4. Strengthen the information gathering mechanism for the pig farming industry to better grasp the dynamics of both home and export markets.
5. Continue to modernize the black pig production and selling systems to ensure a safe environment for pork production, increase product value and develop a distinct segment from foreign brands.
6. Strengthen boar semen supply and promotion systems to enlarge the scope of quality semen supply and thus expedite the process of genetic improvement.
7. Encourage local frozen meat manufacturers to focus on the domestic market and to form alliances with pig farmers' associations for fresh or chilled pork production and to improve the quality of pork on the market.
8. Assist meat markets to transform into multi-functional distribution centers and to help traditional markets to accelerate business diversification processes and boost their operation efficiency.
9. Promote effective measures for solid waste (discarded viscera, pig hair, pig hoofs, and others) treatment to prevent pig slaughtering houses and pig farms from dumping pig hair, discarded viscera and suddenly died pigs, and thus minimize the likelihood of causing additional public health hazards and pollution, and promote resources recycling and reuse.