March 6, 2008

China sees pork shortage in June and July

China will likely see a pork shortage in June-July due to heavy snowstorms earlier this year that killed many piglets, a senior veterinary official said Thursday (March 6).

Jia Youling, National Chief Veterinary Officer at the Ministry of Agriculture, said the government should establish 500,000 tonnes of frozen meat reserves to prepare for any shortage during the two months.

"China currently has very little frozen meat reserves," he said on the sidelines of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference.

China's pork consumption per month is around 4 million tonnes, or 64.5 percent of the country's total meat consumption per month, he added.

Soaring pork prices have contributed to generally higher food prices, which pushed China's inflation rate to an 11-year high of 6.9 percent in November.