July 30, 2010

 

Taiwan's Taitung faces pork shortages

Butchers and pig suppliers in eastern Taiwan's Taitung county will suspend sales for 11 days during the period July 30 - August 31 due to low supplies, a county official said Thursday (Jul 29).

 

The pork market in Taitung usually closes for a few days each summer ahead of the Ghost Festival in August when demand tends to rise sharply, but sales have never been suspended for more than seven days at a time.

 

However, this year there has been a shortage of pork because of high summer temperatures, which affect the survival rate of pigs, and because pig stocks were depleted by Typhoon Morakot last August, said Wu Tzi-ko, who is in charge of livestock production affairs in the Taitung county government.

 

This month, temperatures in Taitung have ranged between 25 and 32 degrees Celsius.

 

Demand for pork in Taiwan usually rises in August as it is the meat of choice for offerings to the spirits of the dead during the Ghost Festival, which falls on August 24 this year.