China has seen soaring pork prices in recent months following outbreaks of African swine fever across the country. But the latest data has shown that the overall pork price index has softened in the past few weeks. It comes after a series of measures were implemented to contain the epidemic and foster pig herding business.
The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs tracked the overall pork price index in 16 provincial-level regions from November 11 to 15. According to the ministry, the average price index in the regions came in at 46.11 yuan (about 6.58 U.S. dollars) per kilogram, down 9.6 percent on a weekly basis. It attributes the drop to increased supplies from farmers and large-scale breeding farms, and an influx of frozen pork products.
In late November, the Ministry of Commerce said that China expects to import more than three million tons of pork and related products this year, 40 percent more than last year. In this sense, more pork imports have also helped alleviate a price hike.
However, the decline in prices has been felt by the public in a different way. "Pork prices are lower these days, but still expensive. I only bought a little side pork today, but still cost me twenty-eight yuan," Yi Lanying, a Chengdu resident told CGTN at Chengdu Agricultural Produce Wholesale Market, the largest of its kind in southwest China.
Despite a hike in prices, local residents swarmed into the pork market. He Jizhi, a senior female, told CGTN, "My family ate more pork last year. But since then, the price has gone up following the swine fever outbreak, (so) we never buy pork." She was planning to buy some pork to prepare special dishes for the coming New Year.
Wang Minghua has been selling pork at the market for over seven years. He said, "Pork is prohibited from entering into the province following the epidemic. That's why the price has soared, (to) about twice more than before." The impact on wholesale businesses is not obvious, but much bigger for retail, he told CGTN.
To avert a shortage of pork supplies, Sichuan has vowed to put 40 million pigs into markets this year, as well as 10 million more for next year. Traditionally the province, with its population of over 83 million, has been known to have China's top capacity for pig production.
To that end, starting from September, the province launched the construction of 13 large-scale hog breeding farms. Guang'an city, about 300 kilometers away from Chengdu, is part of that effort.
Tang Shifu, deputy director of Guang'an Bureau of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, told CGTN that "We plan to build more large-scale pig farms and foster leading enterprises to ensure stable pig production. Construction on a breeding farm has already started." He said the farm is designed to supply three million pigs to the market each year.
On December 4, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs rolled out a three-year action plan aiming to restore pig production to normal levels by 2021. But for now, it is calling for measures to stabilize prices for the coming New Year and Spring Festival holidays.