Chinanews client, Beijing, July 2nd (Reporter Xie Yiguan) "Do you want to buy pork? The one under 10 yuan."

  Since the beginning of this year, the "Second Brothers" have been on the slide, and the price has been falling all the way, and now 8 to 9 yuan of pork is in sight.

Pork sold in a supermarket in Fengtai District, Beijing.

Photo by Xie Yiguan, a reporter from China News Service

9 yuan more than a catty of pork reappears on the market

  According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs monitoring of the country’s 500 county fairs and collection points, in the fourth week of June, the national average price of live pigs was 13.76 yuan/kg, a year-on-year decrease of 57.0%.

If calculated from the 36.01 yuan/kg in the third week of January, the cumulative decline has reached 62%.

  The price of live pigs continues to fall, which drives the price of pork to continue to fall.

In the fourth week of June, the national average pork price was 24.6 yuan/kg, a year-on-year decrease of 49.0%.

Among them, the average price of pork in South China is higher, at 29.23 yuan/kg; in Northeast China, the average price is lower at 19.93 yuan/kg.

  It is worth mentioning that, according to the monitoring of the Ministry of Commerce, from June 21 to 27, the wholesale price of pork in the national edible agricultural product market was 19.53 yuan per kilogram, which means that the

wholesale price of pork has fallen below 10 yuan per kilogram

.

  The drop in prices at the wholesale end is also reflected in the price tags of supermarkets and vegetable markets at the retail end.

  In a supermarket in Fengtai District, Beijing, a reporter from Chinanews.com noticed that the price of pork in different parts has dropped significantly.

The current price of domestic pork belly is 15.88 yuan per catty, the

domestic fresh front leg is 9.88 yuan per catty

, and the broth bone is 10.88 yuan per catty.

  At a pork stall in a vegetable market in Fengtai District, the big five flowers are priced at 24 yuan per catty, the front tip is 14.5 yuan per catty, the pure ribs are 36 yuan per catty, and the ribs are 26.5 yuan per catty.

"Some time ago, the price of pork was both 3 yuan and 5 yuan down. It was 34.5 yuan when it was expensive. The ribs were previously sold for 39 yuan. Pure ribs were originally sold for 49 yuan. Now the price of pork is much cheaper." Main title.

A pork stall in a vegetable market in Fengtai District, Beijing.

Photo by Xie Yiguan, a reporter from China News Service

  "Once'Pork Freedom' came before'Milk Tea Freedom', now a pound of meat can no longer afford a cup of milk tea." Some netizens joked.

  The sharp drop in pork prices has also spurred residents' enthusiasm for filling sausages against the season.

Recently, at the Ximen Farmer’s Market in Ziyang City, Sichuan Province, there was a lively scene of many citizens lining up to fill sausages off-season.

Ms. Li Zhonghua, a citizen of Ziyang, said that in winter, the price was as high as 20-30 yuan per catty, and

now the price of pork has dropped to 10 yuan per catty, and more than 40 catties have been filled

.

Why is the price of pork "jumping"?

  In addition to the continuous recovery of live pig production capacity and the increase in supply, Feng Yonghui, an analyst at China Live Pig Warning Network, believes that the three waves of pork decline in the first half of the year have different factors.

  "The drop in pork prices from January to March was due to the greater pressure of the epidemic in North China and Northeast China, and the dumping of pig farmers; the decline from March to May coincided with the traditional low season for consumption; from May to June, Mainly because many pig farmers were reluctant to sell the pigs in the early stage, resulting in too much squeezing of cattle and pigs, resulting in ultra-low bargaining after the concentrated slaughter." Feng Yonghui said.

Pork sold in a supermarket in Fengtai District, Beijing.

Photo by Xie Yiguan, a reporter from China News Service

  In Feng Yonghui's view, the increase in the volume of imported frozen pork has also become a key factor in restraining the pork price market.

  According to data from the General Administration of Customs, from January to May 2021, the cumulative import volume of pork reached 1.96 million tons, an increase of 13.7% year-on-year; the import volume of alternative meat beef, mutton and poultry also increased by 18.6%, 22.4% and 13% respectively.

  In addition, the China Animal Husbandry Association pointed out that there is another important reason for the drop in pork prices this year: piglet diarrhea occurred in certain areas from last winter to this spring, and some institutions irresponsibly spread false statements about the serious decline in production capacity, and some pig farms The households heard the rumors and made blind decisions to carry out the second fattening, which disrupted the normal slaughter rhythm of live pigs.

  According to the China Animal Husbandry Association, a large number of standard pig sources have flowed into the secondary fattening market this spring, and some new breeders who are migrant workers have also joined the secondary fattening army, and even some secondary fattening producers compete with slaughter companies for the source of large pigs. , There has been a stampede sell-off when pig prices have continued to fall since April.

The price of pigs has plummeted, and the pig farmers are raising one pig and the other losing one pig.

  Pork is cheap, but it hurts the pig farmers.

  "Before June 22, the average loss of the entire industry for self-reproduction and self-support has reached 500 yuan. After a wave of increases, the average loss is now maintained at more than 200 yuan." Feng Yonghui told a reporter from Chinanews.com.

  The fixed-point monitoring by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs showed that the loss of pig farm households in May was 9.7%, an increase of 8.6 percentage points from April. The price of slaughter pigs has fallen below the break-even point.

Some pig fattening households suffered more losses at the current price of fattening pigs due to the higher price of piglets purchased in the early stage.

Data map: Breeding pigs.

Photo courtesy of Changchun Customs

  "My dad started raising pigs a year ago. Now the price of pigs is cheap and they can't be sold. Pigs have to eat feed every day. They lose money almost every day. There is no way to be in a hurry." Some netizens said, "Cousin bought it for 1,800 yuan at the beginning of the year. The piglets in China can only be sold for 2,000 yuan each when they are fed, and they can’t even earn money for food and feed."

  In order to reduce costs and losses, some farmers have begun to reduce the number of live pigs and reduce feed.

  Recently, the China Animal Husbandry Association issued a proposal to pig breeding companies. I hope everyone will pay more attention to the pig production and market data released by the official website of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs. They will be listed in an orderly manner according to the normal production plan. Don't panic during the price decline stage, let alone listen to rumors. Arrange production with a gambling mentality.

  "Although the loss of live pig breeding in May was 9.7%, some excellent farms can control the cost within 6 yuan per catty. This shows that there are also profitable things when the market is not good. It is recommended to speed up the elimination of low-yielding sows, especially the elimination. The ternary fat pigs reserved for breeding can improve the reproductive efficiency of sows, increase the feed conversion rate, and enhance competitiveness." said the China Animal Husbandry Association.

To ensure supply and stable prices, the government starts pork purchasing and storage

  According to the monitoring of the National Development and Reform Commission, from June 21 to 25, the national average pig-to-food ratio was 4.90:1.

According to the "Improvement of the Government Pork Reserve Regulation Mechanism and the Work Plan for the Pork Market to Ensure Supply and Stabilize Prices" previously jointly issued by multiple agencies, the government has entered the first-level warning range for excessive decline (less than 5:1), and the central and local governments will start pork reserves. Purchase and storage work.

  "If you start to purchase and store, the price of white striped pigs may stop falling and stabilize, otherwise it will drop." Liu Tong, head of Beijing Xinfadi's market statistics department, predicts.

Reproductive sows raised in the "Pig Raising Building" in Suining, Sichuan.

Photo by Chen Xuanbin

  In Feng Yonghui's view, the main purpose of starting purchasing and storage is the underpinning function, which is intended to prevent the price of pork from falling further.

"Whether the price of pork can increase significantly in the later period depends on the fundamentals of the live pig market, not the policy purchase and storage." "Because the large pigs in the early stage have not been digested, pork prices are expected to remain low in July."

  Inferior pigs hurt the farmers, and the expensive pigs hurt the people.

Feng Yonghui believes that “this vicious circle is caused by the instability of pig production, which leads to large fluctuations in supply, which in turn causes large fluctuations in prices.”

  Have you bought pork recently? How much is a catty? (Finish)