Global Times - 02.09.2019

http://www.globaltimes.cn MONDAY SEPTEMBER 2, 2019

BUSINESS

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By Tu Lei

Provincial governments in China are

taking measures to stabilize pork out-

put after months of soaring prices,

which insiders said may persist for

some time, given the gap between sup-

ply and demand.

“Pork supplies are under high pres-

sure, and prices will stay at an elevated

level for the rest of this year. Prices

won’t fall much even next year,” Wang

Zuli, a research fellow with the Chinese

Academy of Agricultural Sciences, told

the Global Times on Sunday.

Domestic pork prices hit records

after outbreaks of African swine fever

(ASF), which killed large numbers of

pigs.

China, the biggest pork consumer

in the world, has culled 1.16 million

hogs since ASF was first reported in

August 2018. China had recorded 143

outbreaks of ASF, which is fatal for pigs

but harmless for humans, as of July 3

this year, the Ministry of Agriculture

and Rural Affairs (MARA) said in July.

“The price of pork has soared over

the past month, nearly doubling to 44

yuan ($6.15) per kilogram now from

24 yuan three months ago,” Tang Guo-

liang, a resident in Lichuan county,

East China’s Jiangxi Province, told the

Global Times on Sunday.

“I won’t eat pork unless I have

guests,” he added.

As of Sunday, low-priced pork was

being rationed in Nanning, capital of

South China’s Guangxi Zhuang Au-

tonomous Region, where each resi-

dent can only buy 1 kilogram per day

at a price 10 percent below the market

average in the previous 10 days in 10

pilot sites, according to the Nanning

Evening News on Sunday.

Pork consumption in the first half of

this year in bazaar markets in China fell

by 12 percent year-on-year after the ASF

outbreak, and it is expected that annual

demand for pork will be reduced by

about 10 percent, Xin Guochang at the

husbandry and veterinarian bureau of

the MARA, said on Saturday.

Supporting measures

To encourage pork supply, South-

west China’s Sichuan Province on Au-

gust 26 rolled out measures to ensure

output, including financial support for

pig feed.

Other provinces such as East Chi-

na’s Fujian Province and Jiangsu Prov-

ince as well as Central China’s Hubei

Province all vowed similar measures.

Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous re-

gion ordered that each city should be

100 percent self-sufficient in pork.

Several places in Northeast China’s

Heilongjiang Province encouraged

women in rural areas to increase pork

output, and ensure their confidence in

pig feeding.

“We should ensure pork supply by

all means,” Vice Premier Hu Chunhua

said on Friday, noting that the govern-

ment will strictly crack down on market

speculation, actively boost the produc-

tion of alternative meat products and

increase frozen pork supply.

Zhao Zhuo, official from the min-

istry, said this round of price hikes re-

flects the impact of ASF.

There are also cyclical factors as hog

prices rebounded after falling to a low

point in May 2018.

Data from the ministry showed that

the price hikes started in June or July

this year. In July, the number of pigs

in 400 counties that are monitored

nationwide decreased by 9.4 percent

month-on-month, down 32.2 percent

year-on-year.

However, Xin from the MARA said

that meat supply is guaranteed this year

due to factors such as reduced pork

consumption and rising imports.

China imported 819,000 tons of

pork in the first half of this year, an

increase of 26.4 percent, and chicken

meat production increased by 13.5 per-

cent in the first half of the year.

China, the world’s biggest hog pro-

ducer, produced 54.04 million tons of

pork in 2018, data from National Bu-

reau of Statistics showed.

AGRICULTURE

Authorities rush to tame pork prices

“Prices will stay at an

elevated level for the

rest of this year. Prices

won’t fall much even

next year.”

Wang Zuli

Research fellow with the Chinese Academy of

Agricultural Sciences

 Supplies under pressure from impact of ASF

Page Editor:

[email protected]

A breeder sprays disinfectant in a pig farm in Guang’an,

Southwest China’s Sichuan Province on Tuesday. Photo: VCG

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