China’s pork prices starting to ‘scare’ consumers as discontent soars

Across China, prices have doubled since July, reaching record highs of 30 to 33 yuan per kilogram, surpassing analyst expectations

Beijing has implemented policies to offset increases but it is expected to take years to restore stocks after African swine fever outbreak led to 1 million pigs being culled

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Across China, pork prices have doubled since July, reaching record highs of 30 yuan (US$4.20) to 33 yuan per kilogram, surpassing analyst expectations. Photo: Reuters

Published: 5:00pm, 8 Sep 2019Updated: 12:03pm, 11 Sep 2019

As is the case across China, complaints about rising pork prices are constant and loud in Xinfadi, the biggest meat market in Beijing.

“Comrades, pork prices really scare me!” a customer in his 60s yells to the crowd, with another responding: “A few days ago when I came here, the price of ribs was 16 yuan for half a kilo. Today it’s 25 yuan.”

The irony, and possibly the cause for the concern, is that Xinfadi mainly deals with wholesale buyers but also sells directly to consumers, offering the lowest pork prices in the capital city.

Prices for food products, especially pork, are one of the major indicators used by Chinese citizens to informally gauge their financial well-being, and at the moment, that well-being is being eroded rapidly.

Across China, pork prices have doubled since July, reaching record highs of 30 yuan (US$4.20) to 33 yuan per kilogram, surpassing analyst expectations. The last time pork prices reached similar levels, in June 2016, they peaked at 31.56 yuan per kilogram, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs.