Eye on the future

Si Guiquan shows off the pork produced on his pig farm. [Photo by Jiang Dong/China Daily]

The free-range pigs are fed wheat bran, corn flour and rapeseed oil cakes, and drink underground water. They grow for at least 1.5 years before they are sold for meat, whereas in industrial farms, the animals are usually slaughtered much sooner, at six months.

Si proudly says his pork makes delicious soup with just water and a few slices of ginger. More importantly, according to a Societe Generale de Surveillance test report Si proudly displays on the wall of his shop, the meat is free from dangerous heavy metals, such as mercury and arsenic.

In the beginning, Si sold his pork mainly to acquaintances. Then, in late 2012, he had the opportunity to sell his pork at "natural food" shops in the city, where he also learned effective business strategies, such as creating a brand logo, selling pork by category and promoting his products online through Sina Weibo, China's microblog platform.

He started accumulating regular customers after taking part in the Beijing Country Fair, the capital's most recognized weekly organic farmers' market. At the same time, he started an online shop on Taobao, China's largest retail website, where he can process orders from outside Beijing.

His business enjoys a good reputation but making good profits is still a vision on the horizon.

Si used to raise more than 20,000 cage chickens on his farm to ensure some regular income from eggs, but the space and 1 million yuan worth of equipment is now left unused because the Beijing Country Fair is cautious about large-scale farm production.

Si's pigs, however, get very positive feedback.

The reviews are good, but regular orders are still not as forthcoming. Si says many buy for a period and stop. He tried calling some customers, only to find himself more confused because everyone tells him his products are good, but few showed interest in placing regular orders.

The only reason Si can think of is that there is still suspicion of "organic" or ecological farms. The organic industry is completely dependent on self-regulation and any small mistake would taint the reputation of the whole industry.

Pricing may be another issue. Si says some farmers used to sell their pork for as much as 300 yuan a kilogram. He feels that there should also be some form of quality control, such as random checks for heavy metals.

More importantly, Si says, customers themselves must adopt a more rational approach. "If they think the products are good, they should show support. And they can regularly or randomly visit the farms to see the breeding and rearing processes for themselves. You can't give up when you don't even know what's going on."