January 26, 2007

China Guangdong's pork prices go up as festive season nears

Pork prices in Guangdong have been rising steadily in the run up to Spring Festival, with streaky pork registering the largest increase, market analysts said. 

Streaky pork or pork high in intramuscular fat, is used to make Chinese sausages, a common ingredient of dishes served during the Spring Festival. The Spring Festival falls in mid-February this year. Chinese sausages come in the form of a dried, hard sausage made from pork meat with a high fat content. Streaky pork had the largest increase in price among the various pork products.

According to a retailer, wholesalers have increased pork prices by as much as 30 percent. However, retailers themselves were reluctant to raise prices to such an extent for fear of losing their customers. Prices of ribs, streaky pork, lean meat and trotters have all risen by about 5-15 percent.

The extended period of price increase was on a scale that was seldom seen in the market, a retailer said. Although there was a period of price increase in 2004, it lasted only 4 months. The price increase seen this time round has lasted for much of 2006, the retailer said. 

However, a spokesman from the Dongguan Price Regulation Bureau said there is a seasonal nature to pork price increases. As the festive season is approaching, streaky pork would be in demand to make Chinese sausages, hence the increase in price. Compared to streaky pork, prices of other pork products were relatively unaffected, the bureau said.