Check on China: AgFeed Industries

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In the United States, pork might be "the other white meat," but in China, it's the only meat. Well, almost.

Far more than any other meat, pork occupies a special place in the Chinese diet and economy. Supporting a hog market estimated to be worth $32 billion annually, the Chinese consume more pork than any other nation. It is prepared in almost every conceivable way, from roasted whole suckling pigs, commonly served during holiday feasts, to sweet and sour pork, whose Americanized version is a Chinese restaurant staple. Pork accounts for two-thirds of the average Chinese's protein intake.

Last year, spiraling pork prices amid shortages tied to severe weather in southern China and an outbreak of "blue ear" disease — a form of swine flu that decimated up to 2 million pigs — left Chinese shoppers suffering from the same sticker shock as Americans filling up at the pump these days. Today, pork prices continue to rise as producers who are feeling the pinch of pricey feed and fuel pass along costs. As of this April, pork prices in China had increased a further 68% from the same time last year.

The vast majority of China's annual population of between 500 and 600 million hogs is raised on small farms. And with the nation's appetite for pork and pork products growing with consumers’ prosperity, producers are unable to meet demand. To fill the supply gap, China has sealed importation deals with U.S. pork and meat processing giant Smithfield Foods Inc. (NYSE:SFD) and its rival Tyson Foods (NYSE:TSN) to put American pork on Chinese tables.

Despite surging expenses that are plaguing companies in the sector, AgFeed Industries Inc. (Nasdaq:FEED), a leading pork producer and livestock feed grain maker, is setting the stage to bring home the bacon in the fast-growing market. AgFeed develops, manufactures, distributes and sells pre-mix feed and feed additives primarily for use in China's pork husbandry and slaughter market. It is also engaged in the raising, breeding and sale of hogs for the domestic pork production and hog-breeding markets. The company, which does business through a handful of subsidiaries, has production plants in Shanghai, Nanchang and Nanning, . . .

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