Chinese pork prices surge to new high prompting authorities to act

theguardian.com:

The price of Chinese pork surged to a new high in August, prompting authorities to take the year’s first dip into national meat reserves to ensure supply for the holidays.

Pork costs in China rose an average of 22.5% last month, compared with last year. It followed the highest recorded month-on-month rise of 25.6% in July, as CPI also hit a two-year high of 2.7%. August’s rise occurred despite an unexpected slowdown of CPI inflation to 2.5%.

China is the world’s biggest consumer of pork, and the country’s government maintains a frozen “reserve” supply as part of a vital stabilisation policy.

Before last weekend’s mid-autumn festival and China’s forthcoming National Day on 1 October, authorities said they were releasing some reserves for the first time this year.

The staple meat is the most heavily weighted item in the food basket used by economists to determine the nation’s consumer price index, and the government reserve is maintained to ensure supply and price steadiness. In 2019 pork prices rose to a record high after an outbreak of African swine fever spread across the country.

The recent rise has been attributed to high demand in holiday season, the current high cost of feed, and the lagging impact of reduction in breeding stocks last year. People were also at home cooking more, some suggested. Chinese residents had been discouraged from travel because of several Covid outbreaks, and some have been under lockdown.

“There are more people eating pork as they found leisure time to cook,” said Ms Wang, a 53-year-old manufacturing worker in Zhuhai. “In this holiday season, families and friends gather together to enjoy meals, so there is a growing need for pork.”

Some producers were also accused of holding on to stock,