Meat market supply in China to remain stable: official

Source:Global Times Published: 2019/7/17 17:18:40

Pork prices in China are not to come down in the coming months as supply is expected to be tight in the second half of the year. With the increase of domestic output of substitutes, and rising quantities of imported pork, overall supply of the meat market is guaranteed, an official said.

"The average pork price in the wholesale market was 21.59 yuan ($3.14) per kilogram in June, up 29.8 percent year-on-year," Tang Ke, an official of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, said at a press conference on Wednesday.

Since the last quarter of the previous year, the production capacity of hogs continued to decline, which was mainly due to the African swine fever (ASF), and the pork supply in the second half of the year is expected to remain tight, Tang told the media.

However, as the domestic output of poultry, eggs, milk and other substitutable products increased, adjustment of the consumption structure has been accelerated. Together with the rising amount of imported pork, the overall supply of the meat market is guaranteed, Tang noted.

Data from China's General Administration of Customs showed that China imported 658,236 tons of pork from January to May, up 19.8 percent year-on-year. The total value of the imported pork was $1.19 billion. 

"Imported pork could supplement some of the supply. In terms of the domestic market, poultry is the most important substitute product for pork, and may replace about 200 million tons of pork consumption within the year," Wang Zuli, a research fellow with the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, told the Global Times on Wednesday.

Since most provinces' ASF blockades have been removed, China's next step would be to guide farmers to resume production, by offering them subsidies or better insurances to relieve their concerns and enhance their confidence, Wang noted.

In terms of vegetable prices, Tang said that the overall high vegetable price in the first half of the year was mainly caused by weather problems. It is expected that vegetable prices in the following months will decline due to the accelerating supply, Wang said.

Global Times

Posted in: ECONOMY,COMPANIES

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