The Chinese pork market is again feverish: if in 2019-2020 the prices for this product more than doubled, then since the beginning of this year they have fallen by 60%, writes the publication “Caijing” with reference to insiders.
In 2019, African swine fever (ASF) cut off 40% of the pig population in China. Due to the deficit by February 2020, pork prices soared by 135% year on year. By the end of last year, the crisis had been overcome, and in July 2021, the pig population in China reached pre-crisis levels.
In order not to provoke further oversaturation of the market and falling prices, many manufacturers deliberately reduce supply. In August, the decline in supplies from individual large pig farmers was up to 15%.
Observers predict that the fall in pork prices will soon end, because mid-November and December in China – the traditional season of harvesting corned beef and dried meat, which will support demand and prices. Then there will be a New Year on the lunar calendar, which traditionally accounts for the peak of pork consumption in China.