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kurobuta pigs?


HenkBeekhuis

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  • 2 weeks later...

The Kurobuta pork in Thailand comes from English Berkshire pigs. CP imported around 300 of them from UK some years ago to begin breeding. The mindset behind the project was that high quality pork from black pigs can command a high sales premium to overseas markets mostly Japan.

I looked into this 2 or 3 years ago. At the same time I did some research into meat quality comparisons across pig breeds. A very detailed study was done comparing the meat quality of Duroc vs English Berkshire. This study used visual inspection, physical measurements, magnetic resonance imaging, ultrasound, on live and butchered pigs. The conclusions were that there were only very small differences between the two breeds, both had pro's and cons for meat quality, but neither stood out above the other. I dont have a copy of the paper, but if your prepared to do some good digging around the internet you might find it as I did.

Note that English Berkshires are a traditional/rare breed. This has disadvantages for a money making project. The food conversion ratio is not very good, they need more feed and grow slower, they are much smaller than other breeds. They are not very prolific, thats litter size, and can be difficult to breed. Also being native to England resistance to tropical disease and environmental conditions must also be taken into consideration. In the event of serious disease or disease related death, a simple fact of any livestock project, stock would be very difficult to replace. Another thing of course is who is going to pay you a premium ? thais ? not in this life I'm afraid.

Duroc is the breed used widely/commercially as a meat quality sire. They do well in Thailand and are robust, dont need to be pampered or a life of luxury (like English Berkshires !). There are a couple of choices here. You could Breed Duroc Boar x Large White/Landrace Cross, or Duroc x Duroc for even higher meat quality.

All of these breeds are available in Thailand. Thai-Denmark Swine Breeders PCL have good stock, Large White, Landrace, and Large White x Landrace Cross. Betagro sell top quality Duroc, both Boars/Gilts. These are two sources there ae obviously more.

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The Kurobuta pork in Thailand comes from English Berkshire pigs. CP imported around 300 of them from UK some years ago to begin breeding. The mindset behind the project was that high quality pork from black pigs can command a high sales premium to overseas markets mostly Japan.

I looked into this 2 or 3 years ago. At the same time I did some research into meat quality comparisons across pig breeds. A very detailed study was done comparing the meat quality of Duroc vs English Berkshire. This study used visual inspection, physical measurements, magnetic resonance imaging, ultrasound, on live and butchered pigs. The conclusions were that there were only very small differences between the two breeds, both had pro's and cons for meat quality, but neither stood out above the other. I dont have a copy of the paper, but if your prepared to do some good digging around the internet you might find it as I did.

Note that English Berkshires are a traditional/rare breed. This has disadvantages for a money making project. The food conversion ratio is not very good, they need more feed and grow slower, they are much smaller than other breeds. They are not very prolific, thats litter size, and can be difficult to breed. Also being native to England resistance to tropical disease and environmental conditions must also be taken into consideration. In the event of serious disease or disease related death, a simple fact of any livestock project, stock would be very difficult to replace. Another thing of course is who is going to pay you a premium ? thais ? not in this life I'm afraid.

Duroc is the breed used widely/commercially as a meat quality sire. They do well in Thailand and are robust, dont need to be pampered or a life of luxury (like English Berkshires !). There are a couple of choices here. You could Breed Duroc Boar x Large White/Landrace Cross, or Duroc x Duroc for even higher meat quality.

All of these breeds are available in Thailand. Thai-Denmark Swine Breeders PCL have good stock, Large White, Landrace, and Large White x Landrace Cross. Betagro sell top quality Duroc, both Boars/Gilts. These are two sources there ae obviously more.

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  • 1 month later...

"Thailand Government Research Swine Development Center - The Thailand Kurobuta Berkshire Black Pig"

The Surin Scotsman offers great information and what he says is exactly what happened/is happening: The Thailand Swine Research has made a Thailand Kurobuta/Berkshire/Black Pig line. Our farm, Surin Farm, is bringing this pig to market: - see KurobutaPig or KurobutaThailand for the site.

We will start by butchering the Thai Kurobuta by order only and have customers signing up for an email announcing butcher dates.

We will also be butchering the other pedigree lines - Large White, Landrace and Duroc along with mixes of the lines.

We will also do some smoking (will not be smoking the Thai Kurobuta line).

We will also be mixing the Thai Kurobuta fat with the pedigree pig lines making some juicy HamPorkBurger.

Thanks,

Randy

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The Kurobuta pork in Thailand comes from English Berkshire pigs. CP imported around 300 of them from UK some years ago to begin breeding. The mindset behind the project was that high quality pork from black pigs can command a high sales premium to overseas markets mostly Japan.

I looked into this 2 or 3 years ago. At the same time I did some research into meat quality comparisons across pig breeds. A very detailed study was done comparing the meat quality of Duroc vs English Berkshire. This study used visual inspection, physical measurements, magnetic resonance imaging, ultrasound, on live and butchered pigs. The conclusions were that there were only very small differences between the two breeds, both had pro's and cons for meat quality, but neither stood out above the other. I dont have a copy of the paper, but if your prepared to do some good digging around the internet you might find it as I did.

Note that English Berkshires are a traditional/rare breed. This has disadvantages for a money making project. The food conversion ratio is not very good, they need more feed and grow slower, they are much smaller than other breeds. They are not very prolific, thats litter size, and can be difficult to breed. Also being native to England resistance to tropical disease and environmental conditions must also be taken into consideration. In the event of serious disease or disease related death, a simple fact of any livestock project, stock would be very difficult to replace. Another thing of course is who is going to pay you a premium ? thais ? not in this life I'm afraid.

Duroc is the breed used widely/commercially as a meat quality sire. They do well in Thailand and are robust, dont need to be pampered or a life of luxury (like English Berkshires !). There are a couple of choices here. You could Breed Duroc Boar x Large White/Landrace Cross, or Duroc x Duroc for even higher meat quality.

All of these breeds are available in Thailand. Thai-Denmark Swine Breeders PCL have good stock, Large White, Landrace, and Large White x Landrace Cross. Betagro sell top quality Duroc, both Boars/Gilts. These are two sources there ae obviously more.

I see CP are selling this Kubota pork meat at 600 - 800 baht a kilo at Big C. I wouldn't even dream about a pork burger at 600Bt/kg.

Seems not a success as they had to remove their stand after trying for 6 months.

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