Nepal Hopes To Boost Pork Exports To China with Xi Jinping Set To Visit Mountain Nation After India

Nepal is looking forward to a boost in export of piggery products to China, during the two-day state visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping to Kathmandu from Saturday (12 October).

The Pig Industrial Park, set up in Pokhara, targets to export pork meat to neighbouring China.

The park was established with 70 per cent investment from the government and 30 per cent from the farmers, for exporting pork.

Currently, the industrial park has more than 10,000 pigs and also a modern slaughter house to produce quality pork meat, according to Pig Breeder Agriculture Cooperatives Ltd Chairman Krishna Bahadur Gurung, who is also a former Member of Parliament.

China has already announced support for expansion of research and technology in the agriculture sector of Nepal.

An agreement has been reached to run potato, green fodder, poultry, mushroom, vegetables and trout fish production plants in Rasuwa, Nuwakot and Sindhupalchok districts, the Himalayan Times reported.

The park that was launched on 19 December, 2018, will run until 18 December, 2021. The government of China has announced the support of RNB 27 million for the project.

As part of the project, 60 farmers and technicians will be taken to China for training while another 240 farmers will be trained in Nepal itself, according to Minister for Agriculture and Livestock Development Chakrapani Khanal.

The support has been heartily welcomed by the 13,000 pig farmers in Nepal, who believe that skilled technical human resource would help produce quality pork meat and open the door for export, said Pig Entrepreneurs' Association Chair Umesh Kumar Rai.

"China is both the largest producer and consumer of pork, hence comes the possibility for exporting from Nepal," he said, as per the daily.

(This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed.)