To replace lost smartphone sales, Huawei is turning to pig farming

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Huawei should have been the best smartphone manufacturer in the world last year. The company had a plan to take over the top spot by 2021, and despite losing access to its US suppliers (including Google) in 2019, the company had surpassed Samsung and Apple by early 2020 to become the largest smartphone manufacturer in the world. But then the other shoe fell. Just one year after the day the US Department of Commerce put Huawei on the entity list and forced the Chinese company to stop doing business with Google, the US enacted a change in export rules. Suddenly, foundries using US technology were no longer allowed to ship to Huawei without a license.

Huawei is turning to other companies to make up for the loss of smartphone sales

It became impossible to get the most advanced chipsets for its phones and 5G base stations. In an ironic twist, even Huawei-designed chips were off limits, and the company’s smartphone sales were down 42% during the fourth quarter when the ban began. The US viewed Huawei, ZTE and some other Chinese companies as threats to national security due to their alleged ties to the communist Chinese government.

In November, Huawei sold its Honor sub-brand, so the latter wouldn’t be excluded from getting chips and US components due to its association with Huawei. The $ 15 billion Huawei received in sales was certainly needed and now the company could become the seventh largest smartphone manufacturer this year. The BBC says Huawei’s smartphone production could drop by 60% this year, although the company was unable to confirm the figure. A Huawei spokesperson said: “The problem here is not that there are issues with our quality or experiences with the Huawei products. It is not a level playing field for Huawei as Huawei is caught between the geopolitical tensions.”

The company has been looking for other sources of income and has therefore ended up in pig farming. That’s right, Huawei, the company behind one of the most technologically advanced smartphone lines in the world, is in the business of raising pigs. This is an important industry in China, where 50% of the world’s live pigs are located. Huawei is bringing technology to the industry with facial recognition used to identify individual pigs. Farms use different technology to monitor pigs’ diet, weight and exercise. A Huawei spokesperson, who discussed the technology company’s entry into pig farming, said: “Pig farming is yet another example of how we are trying to revive some traditional industries with ICT (Information and Communication Technology) technologies to bring more creating value for the pig farming industries. 5G era. “

In addition to pig farming, Huawei wants to branch out into mining. The company’s founder and CEO, Ren Zhengfei, introduced a mining lab earlier this month. Using Huawei technology, Ren wants to turn miners into servants, allowing them to wear suits and ties at work. With the company’s technology, mining will see “fewer workers, more safety, and greater efficiency”. The director added that Huawei will continue to expand its television, tablet and computer lines. This is important because Ren does not see the US removing his company from the entity list. Yet he states, “We can still survive even without relying on telephone sales.” And while the company is looking for new sources of income, it hasn’t given up on the phone business. Huawei is expected to release its two flagship models this year, the P50 and Mate 50 lines. For both models, the company is expected to use its home-grown HarmonyOS.

While Huawei may be losing market share in smartphones, it still remains the largest supplier of network equipment in the world. Still, Huawei has to be careful how things go. After all, it has long been said on Wall Street, “Bears make money, bulls make money, and pigs are slaughtered.”

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