September 11, 2007

China exports 140,000 live hogs in August

China exported 140,000 live hogs in August, unchanged from July, preliminary data issued by the General Administration of Customs showed Tuesday (Sep 10).

The customs department did not provide on-year change for the month alone, but said total exports in January-August fell 4.9 percent on-year to 1.07 million hogs.

China has seen its pork prices increase sharply in the past few months due to a shortage of pork, following an outbreak of blue-ear disease.

The high prices have also driven up the country's consumer price index since May.

The August CPI climbed 6.5 percent from a year earlier, the National Bureau of Statistics said Tuesday, which marked the biggest jump since December 1996.

While non-food prices rose only 0.9 percent, food prices, which make up just more than a third of CPI, surged by 18.2 percent, with meat and poultry prices up 49 percent on-year.

China's Ministry of Commerce said Monday on its Web site the country will import an estimated 100,000 tonnes of pork this year, up from 24,000 tonnes last year.

In January-July, China imported 30,000 tonnes of pork, according to the ministry.