Vietnam's agri major BAF partners with China's giant Muyuan on $454 mln high-rise pig farming project

BAF Vietnam Agriculture JSC (HoSE: BAF) on Sunday signed a joint venture agreement with China’s Muyuan Foodstuff Group to build and operate a high-rise pig farming project in Tay Ninh province.

The project has an investment of VND12 trillion ($454.32 million) and is expected to achieve an annual revenue of around VND10 trillion ($378.6 million).

Under the agreement, BAF and Muyuan will jointly develop and operate a high-rise pig farm integrated with a feed production plant.

The project is expected to accommodate 64,000 sows and produce 1.6 million market pigs annually, with a feed plant capacity of 600,000 tons per year.

At the signing ceremony, Bui Huong Giang, CEO of BAF Vietnam, stated that the project would be implemented immediately after fulfilling all legal procedures per the law. She emphasized the joint venture’s commitment to meeting deadlines.

"BAF has proactively formed a strategic partnership with Muyuan, a company with extensive experience in multi-story farm models and one of the world’s largest livestock enterprises.

"This high-rise pig farming project will play a key role in modernizing Vietnam’s livestock industry, ensuring stable pork supply, and providing consumers with clean, safe, and competitively priced food," she added.

Following its high-tech and sustainable agriculture vision, BAF aims to expand production to 10 million market pigs by 2030 - an ambitious goal in the context of Vietnam’s ongoing transition from small-scale traditional farming to large-scale, modernized livestock production.

Gao Tong, CFO of Muyuan Foodstuff Group, highlighted that Muyuan, established in 1992, is the world’s largest pig farming enterprise. Starting with only 22 pigs, Muyuan has dedicated 33 years to pig farming, building a closed supply chain from feed and breeding to farming and slaughtering and ensuring transparency, control, and traceability.

By 2024, the company supplied 71.6 million pigs and slaughtered 12.52 million, making it the largest pig farming company globally and the biggest slaughterhouse operator in China.

Gao Tong attributed this success to continuous technological innovation.

"We have developed 20 advanced technologies covering breeding, feed, health, nutrition, and smart farming. Over the past five years, we invested RMB23 billion ($3.22 billion) in R&D, registered more than 2,500 patents, and contributed to 17 standards. Our high-rise pig farming model has been in operation in China since 2020 with proven effectiveness," he added.

Since 2020, 87 multi-story pig farms have been built by Muyuan across 10 provinces in China, producing 9.3 million pigs annually. The Tay Ninh project will apply Muyuan’s latest fifth-generation solutions, offering three key advantages.

Land-use efficiency - A conventional farm for 100,000 pigs requires 47 hectares, while the high-rise model in Tay Ninh will use less than seven hectares, increasing land efficiency more than sixfold.

Biosecurity efficiency - The project is designed as a five-story “bio-secure island,” where each floor can operate independently to prevent cross-infection. The facility will feature comprehensive air filtration, precision ventilation, disinfection, and deodorization systems, achieving a 99.9% sterilization rate to prevent disease transmission.

High-tech applications - Intelligent environmental control will maintain stable temperature and humidity year-round, reducing or eliminating disease risks. Smart feeding systems will tailor nutrition formulas daily based on age and weight.

Intelligent robots will collect 17 indicators from pigs 24/7, while AI-driven cough monitors will diagnose illness through sound and issue timely alerts.“These smart systems ensure healthier pigs and make farming more efficient and sustainable,” the Muyuan executive added.