July 9, 2007

Hong Kong says it is able to deal with pork shortage

Hong Kong may see a decline in fresh pork volumes as a supply crunch in the Mainland filters down to the territory, but this could be dealt with by an increase in frozen pork supplies.

Chief Executive Donald Tsang said at a LegCo question-and-answer session that the pork shortage in Hong Kong could be dealt with through closer coordination between the government and mainland authorities.

As Beijing limits the number of live hog exporters, Hong Kong would likely see a greater supply shortage, Tsang said. However, this would be communicated to the central authorities.

Still, the drop in live pork supply from the mainland would have limited impact on the market, since 70 percent of the overall supply comes from frozen pork, Tsang said. Live pork supplies have dropped about 30 percent from the Mainland as China grapples with a pork shortage caused by earlier pig diseases and high feed prices.

With shortages expected to last up to six months, some in the industry have suggested that Hong Kong set up its own pig farm in neighbouring provinces like Guangdong.

Another cause of the shortage was the higher number of farmers that had recently quit pig farming in Hong Kong, exacerbating the shortage.

Although a price hike is expected in supermarkets, legislators said pork prices are unlikely to rise significantly since the overall import volumes are not changing, only that lesser fresh pork is being imported.