Slaughterhouse rules put brakes on China pork prices
Tough new regulations slow down business after African swine fever outbreak
Beijing — China’s pork prices are being kept in check even as pig production continues to drop, with tough new rules on slaughterhouses crimping trade and pushing frozen pork stocks on to the market, analysts say. Hog prices in the world’s top producer rose sharply in early-March as losses from an epidemic of incurable African swine fever started to affect supplies. The prices levelled off in mid-March, and in many areas have declined in May, confounding anticipation of a rapid rise in pork prices after widespread culling. That is because Beijing has rolled out new rules requiring slaughterhouses and processing plants to test for the African swine fever virus, slowing down business at many facilities and denting demand. “The government is checking slaughterhouses, cold storage warehouses and processing firms so nobody dares to buy pigs, kill pigs or sell meat. Live hog demand is fairly poor,” said Feng Yonghui, chief analyst with Soozhu.com. African swine fever does not harm peopl...
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