00:00This mother preparing for Lunar New Year is spending over 1,000 yuan, or over $140, on black pork ribs, feet, and sausages.
00:12For Gao Xianghua, it's worth every yuan for a better quality of meat.
00:17She is one of the growing number of Chinese consumers bringing back the rich flavors of black pork.
00:23Once a nostalgic treat, it is now marketed as the wagyu of pork, a name likening it to the premium Japanese beef that sells for higher prices.
00:32The shift is a rare bright spot in an industry battered by years of oversupply and falling prices.
00:39China slaughtered 720 million pigs last year, mostly fast-growing white breeds.
00:45But cheap meat no longer guarantees profit.
00:48Pig producers like Yang Xin Chun says slow-growing black pigs are giving them a lifeline.
00:54He earned over $140,000 from just 1,000 black hogs in 2025, offsetting big losses from his white herd.
01:04Yang started raising black pigs in late 2024, after learning that state-owned agribusiness giant Bright Food Group was shifting toward the premium market.
01:132025 was a year of transition.
01:18The stock of white pigs remains substantial.
01:20However, our calculations indicate that, based on our self-breeding operations, we're losing about 70 to 80 yuan per white pig on average.
01:30But with profit from just over 1,000 black pigs, we can offset this loss.
01:35Pig farmer Gao Chin Chun says raising imported white breeds has become a losing business, and that black pigs simply taste better.
01:47Because black pigs grow slowly, they don't need as much energy and protein to speed up their growth.
01:53Many pig farming operations are similar to those fast-growing chickens, which prioritize speed of growing.
01:59In other words, trading costs for time. We trade time for poor quality.
02:05Analysts expect black hog numbers to rise to as many as 32 million this year.
02:11Demand is being driven by China's rising middle class, as well as a return to traditional flavors many remember from childhood.
02:19Today, the country has more than four dozen local black or black-dotted pig breeds, sold at varying premiums.
02:26But observers say the niche market could fall into oversupply if too many producers rush in and profits may not last.
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