China plans to control pig prices, other staple commodities

China’s government said it will take a series of measures to stabilise hog production and pork prices...

China’s government said it will take a series of measures to stabilise hog production and pork prices and it will implement further price controls on other key agricultural commodities, the National Development and Reform Committee (NDRC) said Wednesday.

The state planner said it will control pig prices by increasing stock levels and by setting up additional temporary reserves, adjust an early warning system, and improve the governmental work mechanism.

“The outbreak of the African swine fever (ASF) in 2018 have affected the pig production and pork market in an unprecedented way. Therefore, the government’s ability and level to regulate the market by the state reserves should be improved,” the NDRC said in an interview today.

China’s pork industry is recovering rapidly from its deadly ASF epidemic in 2018 and 2019, but hog and pork prices have slumped steeply since March and the Dalian live hog prices continued to hit their lowest levels since their launch in January 2021.

At the same time, the Chinese government said it would also ensure the supply and price stabilisation of other staple commodities by focusing on corn, wheat, edible oil, pork and vegetables, according to a separate release in a national video conference organised by NDRC.

The conference reaffirmed China’s commitment to strengthen the regulation and supervision of the commodity markets.

China’s official Consumer Price Index (CPI), the primary indicator of inflation, grew by 1.3% year-on-year in May, according to data the State Statistics Bureau (NBS) published Wednesday, as the global food and commodity prices rally.

Meanwhile, the producer price index (PPI) in May surged 9% on year, increasing inflation concerns in China’s market.

What to read next
This is a sample of Fastmarkets’ weekly recap of the main movements in global cash markets.
Despite the current headwinds, strategic partnerships and continued investment in the right areas, coupled with the underlying strong long-term demand fundamentals, will pave the way for success for lithium producers, according to the participants of the executive panel during the Fastmarkets Lithium Supply and Battery Raw Materials Conference, which took place from June 23-26 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
The US and Europe must adopt long-term, consistent policies and should learn lessons from China, according to lithium industry experts speaking at Fastmarkets’ Lithium Supply and Battery Raw Materials Conference in Las Vegas, US, over June 22-25.
This consultation was done as an adhoc methodology review process, aiming to better reflect the physical market under indexation, considering its reduced liquidity linked to the combination of seasonal demand patterns and the implementation of cross-border import tariffs between the US and China. No feedback was received during the consultation period and therefore Fastmarkets will […]
Full details of the prices covered by this consultation can be found here: https://www.fastmarkets.com/insights/open-consultation-on-annual-methodology-review-for-global-pulp-pricing-notice/ During the consultation, Fastmarkets requested comments on whether current discount levels for US market pulp have grown too high and invited open-ended feedback on potential remedies moving forward. Feedback from the industry was mixed. Potential remedies suggested by the industry included […]
Fastmarkets has corrected the rationale for its MB-CO-0021 cobalt hydroxide payable indicator, min 30% Co, cif China, % payable of Fastmarkets’ standard-grade cobalt price (low-end), which was published incorrectly on Wednesday July 2 due to a reporter error.