June 13, 2007

 

China's officials expect stable pork prices in the near term

 

 

China's pork prices have stabilised recently, but are unlikely to fall in the near term, government officials said Tuesday (Jun 12).

 

Pork is by far the most commonly consumed meat in China, the world's biggest pork consumer. Until the last week of May, pork prices had risen because of a supply shortage exacerbated by disease. Last year, farmers cut production as grain prices pushed up their costs and pork prices fell.

 

China said Tuesday its consumer price index rose 3.4 percent in May, driven mainly by increases in pork and food prices.

 

"Now the pork supply is not a problem, but the pork prices will depend on feed meal costs," said Chen Weisheng, deputy chief of the department of livestock husbandry under the Ministry of Agriculture.

 

Chen said it is unlikely pork prices to fall back to last year's levels.

 

Pork prices reached a peak May 30, at RMB21.52 a kilogramme, based on research covering 36 mid-to-large cities, said Zhou Wangjun, deputy chief of price department under the National Development and Reform Commission.

 

Zhou said for the past ten days, pork prices in the 36 cities were stable at about 21.32/kg.

 

Meanwhile, beef and mutton prices are unlikely to rise as supply exceeds demand, said Zhou.

 

He added China will increase its meat reserves, including pork, beef and mutton, to curb any price surge when supply is tight.

 

Despite the rise in pork prices, China has not needed to use its reserve meat so far as supply is "normal," said Zhu Xiaoliang, deputy chief of market operation department under the Ministry of Commerce.