September 12, 2011

China's 2011 pork prices set to resume uptrend

Pork prices in China are likely to keep rising till the end of this year given slightly tight supply and swelling feed cost, said an official with the China Animal Agriculture Association.

Qiao Yufeng, vice chairman of the association, said that persistent rise of corn prices in the past several months significantly lifted farmers' production cost, adding that live hog supply may not increase substantially until the first half of 2012.

Data from the Ministry of Commerce show that pork prices rose 0.4% in the week ending September 2, as upcoming holidays spurred an increase in demand. The increase was 0.1 percentage point higher than that of the previous week ending August 28, marking the fourth straight week of rises.

Zhou Wangjun, vice director of price division of the National Development and Reform Commission earlier said that pork prices are likely to rise moderately amid seasonal booming consumption before the Spring Festival, which falls on January 23, 2012, but may then fall sharply after the holiday.

The price of pork, a staple food in China, rose by 45.5% in August, contributing about 1.27 percentage points to the CPI growth.

The latest data from the National Bureau of Statistics show that the country's consumer price index (CPI) rose 6.2% on-year in August, compared with 6.5% in July.

China's August inflation eased from a 37-month high as the country's economy cooled and global uncertainties lingered.