Like in the previous years, the 2019 Pig Conference was a joint event between agri benchmark and InterPIG and took place in Beijing, China, from July 1-4.

The conference was jointly organised by agri benchmark and our Chinese partner CAAS (Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences).

A comprehensive programme with internal workshops on pig, international comparisons, latest developments on pig markets and farm analysis was provided. A specific workshop addressed the extent and the type of antibiotics used in pig production. Several changes in the format of the programme improved the exchange and interaction between participants, for example poster sessions and an interactive session on our benchmarking using the comprehensive tools available. A special focus was on the Chinese farm structure development and production systems, the African Swine Fever issues and likely future development.

For the first time, a full day of the Conference was dedicated to the Global Forum with Chinese and international decision makers of the pig chain on July 4. Of course, the situation and mesaures surrounding ASF in China and elsewhere was in the focus of attentions. It was a spectaluar event into which CAAS put all their effort, weight and committment. The status quo of Chinese pig production, policy framework and trade as well as their medium-term perspectives were addressed. This included the latest impacts of ASF and the implications of the US-Chinese trade dispute on production, trade and feed markets. The situation and implications for European and Russian pig markets were another focus.