The African swine fever has been wiping out pig populations in nearly 50 nations. The virulent disease has infected and killed more than one-quarter of pigs worldwide.

Pork Shortage

In China, the deadly virus wiped out up to half of the pig population, causing a supply problem and soaring prices. Chinese Vice Premier Hu Chunhua said that China will face a pork shortage of 10 million tons this year. Wholesale prices of pork already soared to more than 70 percent this year amid the shortage.

Hog Farmers Raising Giant Pigs

The situation has prompted farmers in China to look for a potential solution: raise giant pigs.

Bloomberg reported that a farm in the southern region of China is breeding a herd of pigs that could weigh up to over 1,100 pounds, or as heavy as a polar bear. Pigs normally weigh between 242 and 275 pounds.

When slaughtered, these animals can each sell for more than 10,000 yuan, or $1,399, which is three times higher than the average monthly disposable income in Nanning, the capital of Guangxi province, where the farm's owner Pang Cong lives.

Soaring pork prices also prompted farmers in the northeastern province of Jilin to raise pigs weighing between 385 and 440 pounds.

Larger Pigs Mean Bigger Profits

Large pig breeders are also working on producing bigger pigs. Wens Foodstuffs Group Co, the top pig breeder in the country, Cofco Meat Holdings Ltd. and Beijing Dabeinong Technology Group Co. are also trying to increase the average weight of the pigs they produce.

Lin Guofa, a senior analyst at consulting firm Bric Agriculture Group, said that the big farms want to increase pig weight to at least 14 percent, adding that the average weight of slaughtered pigs at some large-scale farms has already risen to up to 140 kilograms.

The larger animals could boost profits by more than 30 percent.