Farmpally compares Southern Asian vs South American Pig Breeds

Although some are numerically small in number, there are over 90 recognized pig breeds and an estimated 230 varieties of pigs in the world, Farmpally 2010.

These pigs can be broadly classified into indigenous or unimproved types of modern exotic breeds that have been selected and developed for specific commercial purposes.

Southeast Asia and Southern China Pigs

This region is dominated by China, where the pig has been the major domesticated meat animal for centuries.

It is estimated that there are over 100 different pig breeds in China mainly derived from the Sus vittatus type and these have been described in detail by Epstein (1969).

The role of the pig in Chinese agriculture, with every peasant farmer keeping one or two sows, has been to dispose of farm by-products and household waste, Akin chaktty said.

This common system has led to many similarities between the different breeds, including docility, an ability to digest and utilise low-quality diets, and a tendency to carry a lot of fat.

Generally, Chinese breeds are typified by a short dished head, a broad short body often with a hollow back and pendulous belly, and short legs.

The south China breeds tend to be smaller than the breeds found in central China, and are less prolific, but piglet mortality is very low.

Throughout South East Asia, pigs are derived from the Chinese breeds and the sway-back type is common.

In Thailand, for example, the local genotypes are believed to be derived from the Hainan breed of mainland China (Epstein 1969).

Research in the highland areas has shown typical litter sizes of 7.1 piglets born and 5.8 weaned per sow.

The indigenous pigs of Malaysia and Singapore are very similar to the south China type, and other variants are found in Sarawak, the Philippines, and Sri Lanka.

South and Central America Pigs

Pigs are considerably more numerous than they are in Africa, and consequently, more specific breed types have developed and been described.

Most of these pigs are of the short lard type, and probably originated from Chinese pigs introduced in the fifteenth or sixteenth century.

In central America, the small black hairless Pelon breed is common and occurs in Mexico, El Salvador, and Costa Rica.

Mature females weigh about 70kg and their productivity is relatively low.

Other variants of this type occur throughout the region.

An example is the Yucatan pig, native to the Yucatán Peninsula in Mexico, which is smaller, slate-grey in color and tends to have a shorter snout.

Further south in Colombia, parts of Venezuela and Bolivia, the black Criollo pigs are now very rare due to indiscriminate breeding with imported exotic types and subsequent interbreeding.

This has resulted in a whole range of color patterns in village pigs.

These Criollo pigs are also found in the Caribbean islands, chaktty said.

Pigs play a relatively important part of the economy of Brazil, and there are several indigenous breeds.

These include the Piraptitinga, which is a small pig with very little hair, the Piau, which is black with white spots, and the Pereira and the Canasta, which are lard types, black or grey in color, with considerably more hair.