northern Europe, it would be far less straightforward to distinguish the situation in Bangladesh
from that in some parts of China. The overall chicken density in northeast China is higher than
that of Bangladesh but Bangladesh has higher densities of extensively raised chickens than
most parts of populated China. The opposite holds true when comparing the densities of intensively
raised birds in these two countries. In global terms, chicken production in North and
South America and in Europe is dominated by intensive systems. In contrast, extensive chicken
production dominates in most of Africa. Asia presents a somewhat intermediate situation with
many countries where both extensive and intensive production systems coexist in high densities,
reflecting the transitional nature of this region.
For pigs, few countries except China still have high densities of pigs raised in extensive and
semi-extensive production systems. China alone accounts for nearly 70% of pigs raised under
extensive systems globally. The country is therefore likely to be a major hot-spot in terms of
intensification of pig production. If demand were to remain constant then intensification of
pig production in China, with increased carcass weights and off-take rates, would result in a
reduction of the number of animals required to meet that demand. However, the demand for