0
Demand per capita for pork is increasing and will continue to rise with higher incomes, and with the proportion of pork in total meat consumption rising but at declining rate (i.e., about 3 percent annually, on average4). This suggests some change in the nature of demand, from just quantity to demand for quality attributes. Strong preference by consumers for fresh, unchilled meat supplied by traditional market outlets present market opportunities for smallholder pig producers5; strong preference for fresh pork also provides natural trade protection from imports.6 On the other hand, food safety issues, zoonotic food-borne and water-borne diseases that emanate from pork supply chains need to be better understood for appropriate action in the context of smallholder participation in these chains.
The emergence and growth of various market actors have also induced changes in pork value chains, providing smallholders with opportunities to participate in higher-value chains linked with urban markets and modern outlets. On the other hand, smallholders face challenges in their ability to compete with larger producers, who have emerged recently to take advantage of such opportunities, and to meet the more stringent requirements of the emerging pork value chains.
http://mahider.ilri.org/bitstream/10568/2464/1/Pork_value_chain_Research_brief4.pdf
