East China’s Jiangsu province has stepped up the supply of pork on the market in response to the declining sales and rising prices due to the impact of the African swine fever.
Jiangsu will boost the efforts for pig breeding, increase financial and financial policy support, and strengthen the prevention and control of African swine fever.
More loan discounts will be granted to pig farms, the loan interest discount period will be extended to December 31, 2020 and the insurance against sows will be increased from 1,200 yuan to 1,500 yuan on the average.
Toll fees will be scraped for vehicles transporting breeding pigs and frozen pork.
In the meantime, the government will allow the construction of pig farms on arable land.
These efforts will ensure that Jiangsu will be able to supply 70% of the pork on the market as of the end of 2022. 85% of the pigs will be raised on large scale pig farms.
China’s pork prices have continued to rise since June and the tightness of pork supply is predicted to be intensified in the second half of the year, said the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs.
The average wholesale price of pork climbed 29.8 percent year-on-year to 21.59 yuan per kg in June mainly because of the influence of the African swine fever, according to an official with the ministry.
As hog production has been continuously declining since the fourth quarter of 2018, the pressure on pork supply has become heavier in recent months, leading to rises in the prices of beef, mutton, chicken and eggs.
Pork is the staple meat in China. The country reported its first case of African swine fever in August 2018 in the northeastern province of Liaoning. Later outbreaks were reported in several other provincial regions.
Since the first outbreak, MARA has taken strong measures to fight the disease and stabilize hog production.
While pork prices stand to keep rising in the second half, increased livestock and poultry production has optimized the consumption structure. As China expanded its imports of pork products, meat supply in China is expected to be stable.
（source：ourjiangsu.com）
