Swine production has cultural as well as economic importance.
Pigs were brought to Hawai'i by the Hawai'ians and pigs still play a vital role in Hawai'ian culture, as well as in the cultures of the Pacific Islands and of Asia. The hot pork market requires locally slaughtered hogs. Currently approximately 14,000 mainland hogs are imported every year for local slaughter because local production cannot meet demand. Increasing the local sow population by about 1,000 sows would be required to replace the import of live hogs with local production. If the local swine industry is to expand, its costs and returns must be determined.