Shawo White Pigs

Shawo White Pigs

　　Shawo White Pigs are a specialty of Shawo Township, Echeng District, Ezhou City, Hubei Province.

　　Shawo Township is located in the southeastern part of the city, about 20 kilometers from both Ezhou and Huangshi urban areas, and is known as the "landscape gallery of southeastern Hubei." The township is nestled between mountains and water, with the vast, fragrant, and fish-rich Huama Lake to the south, and undulating, lush, and picturesque mountain ranges to the north. The area boasts dense forests and bamboo groves, lush and vibrant; crystal-clear waters stretch to the horizon, dotted with fishing boats, and is home to numerous rare birds, animals, and exotic plants. The Shawo White Pigs raised here enjoy a high reputation in southeastern Hubei.

　　 Shawo Township has over 100 natural villages, with an average annual pig slaughter of more than 70,000. Since ancient times, it has been a local custom for every household to raise pigs, slaughter their own meat, sell pork, and use pig manure to fertilize fields. In the early 1970s, leveraging its unique geographical environment and resource advantages, the township, together with the municipal food company, built the province’s first 10,000-head pig farm, engaging in large-scale pig breeding and the crossbreeding and cultivation of superior breeds, making it a key pig farming base in Hubei Province. This further spurred the vigorous development of the local pig farming industry, turning it into a pillar industry of the township.

　　 Most of the pigs raised in Shawo Township are white pigs. This breed is a third-generation hybrid developed primarily from Yorkshire pigs and large white pigs from the former Soviet Union, crossed with superior Chinese breeds such as Shanghai White Pigs and Harbin White Pigs. Its characteristics include a relatively large body, moderately sized ears, a broad and flat back, full hindquarters, standing upright or slightly leaning forward, and entirely white fur. Particularly notable is that this breed grows faster than most other pig breeds, has less intra-abdominal fat, more lean meat, and a carcass lean meat rate of over 60%; it also reaches sexual maturity about one month later than other breeds and has greater reproductive capacity. Additionally, it has a wide diet, tender meat, bright color, and delicious flavor, making it a premium product in the meat market. Besides being sold as fresh meat, pigs can also be processed into delicacies such as ham, sausages, cured meat, cured sausage, and meat floss. Their hides, bristles, and casings can be used as industrial raw materials. Blood and bones can be made into blood meal and bone meal for animal feed. Furthermore, their internal organs and glands can be used to extract various medicinal products.

　　 With its superior quality and excellent taste, Shawo White Pigs are not only supplied to meet the demands of the local market but are also mostly sold to markets in Guangdong, Hong Kong, and other regions, becoming a highly sought-after product among major meat processing companies and well received by consumers.