According to research carried out by the Ministry of Commerce, the use of antibiotics for animals is under restriction. Antibiotics have played an important role in raising poultry and livestock, and have been used to control and treat most epidemic diseases. However, their side effects are obvious, namely residues of such medicine may cause harm to the physical and mental health of human beings, and antibiotic-resistant bacteria continue to develop. If infecting humans, these antibiotic-resistant bacteria may lead to serious outbreaks of epidemic diseases or public health problems. Therefore, the use of antibiotics for animals is restricted, which in turn increases the value of poultry and livestock vaccines and creates promising prospects for poultry and livestock vaccine development.

Continuous expansion in poultry and livestock farming will stimulate an increasing demand for poultry and livestock vaccines. In 2000, the total output of meat, eggs and milk in China accounted for 26.3%, 41% and 1.6% of the world totals respectively. Output of meat and eggs both ranked first in the world, making China the largest producer of livestock products globally.

In 2000, China grossed Rmb700 billion in livestock husbandry output, Rmb200 billion in fodder and over Rmb15 billion in veterinary medicine. Meanwhile, livestock husbandry created 80 to 90 million jobs in the mainland.

In 2002, total meat output reached 65.9 million tonnes, up 4% from the previous year, while there was a big increase in the output of poultry eggs and milk as well. The growth in livestock husbandry has not only promoted the agricultural industry as a whole but also the economic development of the rural areas, increasing the farmers' income. As poultry and livestock farming continues to expand, it will boost the demand for poultry and livestock vaccines.

China will strengthen animal epidemic prevention, and further open up its poultry and livestock vaccine sector. In international markets, apart from poultry meat, China is also very competitive in the prices of other poultry and livestock products. However, if China wants to gain a firm foothold in the global markets in the future, it has to guarantee the quality of its exported livestock products, and government departments have to formulate new standards for livestock products in accordance with international standards, such as The Standards of Fodder Testing Methods and The Standards of Residues of Veterinary Medicine. To ensure the quality of livestock products, China has to solve the problems of breeding, fodder and epidemic prevention. And as an important part in epidemic prevention, the poultry and livestock vaccine sector has bright prospects.