I want my children to eat the kind of delicious pork I used to eat when they were young. Not cheap, low-quality, quickly produced pork that has crept into my children's lives" - Gao Xianghua, a crab brick seller, shared at a nearby meat store when buying ribs, legs and sausages from black pork worth 1,000 yuan (USD 144).
Gao Xianghua plans to marinate pork with Sichuan pepper and salt and then hang it on the balcony to dry it for the Lunar New Year.
Gao Xianghua, a rising middle-class member of China, is no longer satisfied with mass-produced pork from "white pig" breeds imported from the West, but is eager for high-end products.
Especially, for older buyers, black pork evokes memories of childhood, when black pigs are raised at home and slaughtered for family reunions during the Lunar New Year.
Demand for the meat advertised as "Wagyu of pork", famous for its fatty and softer texture, is a lifeline for struggling pork producers in China.
This premium pork segment, priced 4 times higher than ordinary white pork, is one of the still profitable segments in the world's largest pork market after many years of excess capacity and sharp drops in pork prices. This information is agreed upon by more than 20 pork producers, analysts and scholars.
Pork prices in China have decreased for many years due to weak demand, sluggish economy and changing tastes. In December 2025, pork prices fell 14.6% compared to the same period last year. The rampant overcapacity, partly due to the reaction of authorities in 2018 to African swine fever, caused the industry to lose profits.
In that context, for many people, black pork is a solution.
Mr. Yang Xinchun (49 years old) - a pig farmer in Taizhou, started raising black pigs at the end of 2024 after learning that state-owned food group Bright Food Group is targeting the high-end market to avoid losses.
In 2025, he earned a net profit of more than 1 million yuan (143,848 USD) from black pork in 2025. Thus, 1,000 black pigs compensated for the loss from his herd of 6,000 white pigs.
He plans to expand his pig herd to 15,000 heads as well as expand from 3 black pork stores to 40 franchise stores this year.
Black pigs are the only way out for pig farmers, especially small and medium-sized farmers who are under pressure from the falling price of white pork" - Gao Qinxue, Director of the China Association of Animal Science and Veterinary Medicine, said.
The total number of black pigs in Thai Chau, where Mr. Yang lives, has increased from 10,000 heads in 2024 to 30,000 heads in 2025 and local pig farmers hope the pig herd will increase to 100,000 heads by 2027.
Analysts predict that the number of black pigs will increase by 50% to 30 million to 32 million heads in the period 2024-2026, equivalent to about 5% of the total number of pigs in China.
