Consumption Expenditure News
- Pork prices soar 86 percent
Date: 16-Aug-2007 Sources: (Shenzhen Daily)
PORK prices in China surged nearly 86 percent over last year, but officials said they were expected to stabilize because supply was on the rise, domestic media reported Tuesday.
The rising prices have fueled the country's inflation rate, which in July rose to 5.6 percent - the highest monthly rate in a decade.
The wholesale pork price climbed 11.5 percent in July from June, racking up an 85.8 percent increase over July 2006, Xinhua said, citing figures from the People's Bank of China.
Frozen pork prices were up 89.2 percent over last year, Xinhua said. It listed only the percentage rises, not the prices themselves.
The surge has been blamed mainly on a cyclical shortage of stocks, higher costs for feed and an outbreak of deadly blue ear disease.
But an agriculture official said Tuesday that the pork industry was on the rebound. Chen Weisheng, deputy director of the Livestock Husbandry Department of the Ministry of Agriculture, was quoted as saying that the number of pigs on major farms rose 7.3 percent in July over last year, a 2.1 percent increase from the previous month.
Commerce Ministry officials said prices would stabilize as more pork comes onto the market.
China produced 53 million tons of pork last year, more than double that of the second-highest producer, the 27-nation European Union, according to the United States Department of Agriculture.
Separately, the State Council, the Cabinet, Tuesday urged local governments to boost their efforts to stabilize food prices.
The State Council said some local authorities haven't fully implemented measures introduced by the Central Government. It urged them to 'clearly recognize the severity of the situation?and increase their sense of urgency in addressing food price increases.
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