Pig farmers processing and marketing their pigs : Review of surveys and technical diagnosis

This review was made between July 2000 and December 2001. It shows the diversity and complexity of pig farms where the pigs produced on the farm are (totally or partially) processed and marketed. Common characteristics and several groups emerge according to the orientation and the size of the processing facility or the number of pigs commercialised and marketed. The most useful criterion for characterising pig farms engaged in processing and marketing is the percentage of pigs processed relative to the number of pigs produced. As regards profitability, knowledge of the economic characteristics of these farms deserves further study. These data should be collected regionally or locally, and then centralised. Common characteristics could then be extracted and true references established beyond local specific features.