Pork Supply to Meet Demand Over Chinese New Year, Ministry Says
Tang Shihua
DATE:  Jan 16 2020
/ SOURCE:  yicai
Pork Supply to Meet Demand Over Chinese New Year, Ministry Says Pork Supply to Meet Demand Over Chinese New Year, Ministry Says

(Yicai Global) Jan. 15 -- As demand for pork surges in the run-up to the Chinese New Year, active measures have been taken to ensure availability and reduce the imbalance between supply and demand, an official at the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs said today.

Pork prices are expected to fluctuate no more than they did over the same period last year which was not part of the holiday season, said Wang Junxun, an inspector at the ministry's veterinary department.

The Lunar New Year, which is also known as the Spring Festival in China, is the most important holiday in the Chinese calendar and revolves around large family gatherings and lots of food. Consumption of pork and other foods peak around this time. This year it falls on Jan. 25.

A shortage of pork over the past year due to outbreaks of African swine fever across China has caused prices of the meat to surge. Last month, pork prices almost doubled from a year earlier, contributing about half of the 4.5 percent gain in consumer inflation in December.

But much preparation has been made to ensure supply over this key period and keep a lid on prices. Packers and distributors are gradually delivering their stocks and the government is putting its stockpiled and imported pork into circulation, Wang said. There are also still some live pigs that can be slaughtered before the Spring Festival, he added.

Production of beef, mutton, poultry, eggs and milk increased greatly in 2019 which will help fill the gap in pork supply, Wang said. The peak time for processing preserved meat in the south of China and for slaughtering pigs in the north is almost over, which are good signs that the price of pork will not rise further ahead of the Lunar New Year, he added.

Editor: Kim Taylor

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Keywords:   Pork Price,Spring Fesitival