At 06:55 a.m. of June 12, an airplane with 998 breeding pigs from Canada arrived at Xinzheng International Airport in Zhengzhou City, marking the first batch of live animals transported by air from Canada directly to Zhengzhou.

Reportedly, the 998 breeding pigs, including the strains of Large White, Landrace and Duroc, were totally worth USD1.68 Million and weighed 83.3 tons. To ensure efficient clearance, the Airport Customs House conducted the mode of “pre-declaration, simplified procedures, and inspection on arrival” with pre-classification, pre-evaluation and overtime inspection services. Finally, with the cooperation of local Inspection and Quarantine Bureau, the 998 imported pigs were released just within 30 minutes and then transited to a quarantine station in Ruzhou city.

“Compared with ordinary domestic pigs, the imported Canadian pigs are much higher in lean meat percentage and quality and will surely be favored as a new type of pork by consumers in Henan province,” said General Manager Guo Limin of the Zhengzhou Branch of Shanghai Bangda Tianyuan International Transport Company.

Deputy Director Zhang Xin of the Airport Customs House indicated that they have always been supporting Xinzheng International Airport to optimize the collection and distribution of inbound and outbound live/fresh products. By statistics, from January and May, the Airport Customs has totally released 2,115.8 tons of live animals inbound, 54.36% more than the same period of last year.

Customs officers were inspecting breeding pigs from Canada.