China released 20,000 tonnes of pork reserves, sixth batch this year, after warning about surging pork prices
China released 20,000 tonnes of pork reserves, sixth batch this year, after warning about surging pork prices

China released 20,000 tonnes of pork reserves, sixth batch this year, after warning about surging pork prices

 

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China released 20,000 tonnes of frozen pork from central reserves to curb surging prices, marking the sixth batch this year.

A total of 107,100 tons of pork were released to the market in the past five rounds of issuance since earlier September, official data has shown.

The National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), the top economic planner, said on Friday that all local authorities should increase the release of pork reserves, to meet higher demand during important holidays such as New Year’s Day and the Chinese New Year.

Pork reserves at the central and local levels remain sufficient, and there is solid basis to deal with the abnormal fluctuation of pork price, it said.

One day earlier, the NDRC said that it recently strengthened communications with some large hog farming companies to study measures to ensure hog supply and stabilize prices.

The regulator advised the companies to maintain a normal pace of hog slaughtering and promote stable operations of the live hog market and warned them against colluding or hoarding to drive up prices. Read more …

On Wednesday, the NDRC said that China’s average retail prices of lean pork in China’s 36 major cities surged by more than 40% in the week of Oct 10 – 14 from the same period last year, entering the top level-one warning zone for excessive rises. Read more …

Several local governments have also warned about surging pork prices. Guangdong provincial authority said that the average hog to grain price ratio, a measure of hog farmers’ profitability, reached 9.66:1 on October 18, jumping above the threshold of 9:1 to enter the level-three warning zone for excessive hog price rises.

Central China’s Henan province said that the average retail pork price has been surging and triggered the level-one alert for excessive prices rises. Hubei provincial authority said pork prices in the province increased significantly in September. Read more …