June 9, 2005

Approaching traditional Chinese festival expected to lift Taiwan's live hog industry

The approach of a traditional Chinese festival celebrated with feasting on dumplings and dragon boat races has ignited a surge in pork demand in Taiwan. The Dragon Boat Festival was expected to give the hog industry in Taiwan a much-needed boost.

As concerns on the earlier livestock epidemic gradually eased, coupled with low hog reproduction rates in summer, prices of live hogs were seen to rise in the later half of the year. Live hog prices have already rose by 30 percent over the past two weeks.
 

Live hog prices have plunged since the outbreak of hog diseases during the Spring Festival period in mid-February.  Prices even fell below TW$4,500, the lowest level recorded in the past five years. The approaching Dragon Boat Festival was expected to lift the live hog industry out of the doldrums.

With consumer confidence on the rise, live hog prices in Taiwan were expected to continue climbing in the second half of the year.

(TW$ = Taiwan New Dollars)