The price of pork has skyrocketed. Whose crime is it?

The price of pork has skyrocketed. Whose crime is it?

The recent surge in pork prices has become a hot topic of discussion. Since 2010, the prices of agricultural products such as “Hill Your Garlic,” “Beans, You,” and “Ginger, Your Army” have been overheated. Is the surge in pork prices also a result of speculation?

Feng Yonghui, general manager and chief analyst of China Live Swine Early Warning Network believes that no rich person can dare hype pork. The product properties of live pigs or pork are different from those of garlic, green beans, and the like. For example, garlic, the main producing area is Shandong, took out funds to buy all the garlic in Shandong, and can control the market after hoarding and have pricing power. However, pigs or pork products have no fixed or concentrated production areas. It is difficult to monopolize. Moreover, pigs are alive, and the cost of storage after slaughter will be very high, even if the shelf life of frozen pork is only 6 months.

Experts analyze two major culprits in boosting pork prices:

1. Unbalanced supply and demand are the main reasons for the increase in pork prices. Many farmers last year lost nearly half a year. Many small and medium-sized farmers have withdrawn from the industry. Together with the serious epidemic of swine disease last year, the survival rate is relatively low, and the amount of livestock has been declining. After the drop, it caused a shortage of supply and demand. The diarrhea of ​​piglets that occurred during the Spring Festival was more serious, and the disease was also very rare in history. Under such conditions, the piglets formed a very tense situation in May and June. Broken gear, coupled with rising corn prices in May and June, have caused pork prices to reach an all-time high.

2. The epidemic and rising costs have stimulated the rise of pork prices. The biggest threat to the pork market is disease. Until 2006, the pork market had been relatively stable and there had been no major price fluctuations. It was formally because there were relatively few pig diseases in the past. The reason why pork prices have been ups and downs from 2006 to the present is that the main factors are epidemics. The epidemic has a direct impact on the structure of live pigs and affects the market supply, which in turn raises the market price.

In addition, some agricultural experts said that to ensure normal supply of the pork market, it is necessary to vigorously develop large-scale breeding, and only through scale farming can we reduce the cost of artificial breeding, raise the level of disease prevention, and ensure the efficiency of breeding. However, the establishment of a large-scale standardized pig farm requires the issuing of an environmental assessment report, which includes the project supervision, bidding, and the like, and the operating cost is too high. In addition, land and loans are also factors that restrict the large-scale breeding of live pigs. Because of the large number of farmers, the market has to rely on the status quo of free-standing households. Once retail investors no longer raise pigs, it will cause supply shortages and soaring prices.

Experts predict "the price of pigs will rise in the second half of the year"

After several rounds of pork ups and downs, pig farmers are more rational. At present, on the one hand, the increase in labor, land, feed and other prices has reduced the profitability of pig raising. On the other hand, in 2007, the government had granted pig-raising subsidies in order to encourage pig-raising. This practice led to a sharp drop in the price of pork after its mass listing. At present, the government has not yet introduced a new subsidy policy, and pig farmers are also waiting to see how this year's pig farmers have delayed the time for restocking.

Although the increase in pork prices in the second half of the year will be curbed due to the bottoming out supply of pigs, rising feed costs and the availability of fertile sows are still low, indicating that pig prices will continue to operate at high levels in the second half of the year. Therefore, pig prices will continue to rise in the second half of the year, but the rate of increase will slow down.

The excessive rise in the price of pork is a signal that should be given due attention by relevant departments. It is hoped that the relevant departments will intensify their efforts in macroeconomic control of bioenergy, and must not blindly develop; otherwise, it will certainly lead to distorted development of the entire agriculture, and it will be detrimental to people's livelihood and stability.