Cover News:
The price of pork has always been a central issue in people's lives. We have noticed that prices have been rising recently. What has the ministry done to ensure the production and supply of market pigs? Will people be able to eat cheaper pork this year? Thank you.
Tang Renjian:
The price of agricultural products, and especially the price of "vegetable basket" products, has always been of great concern to consumers, and a central issue in people's lives. Since last year, we have been taking various measures to support the restoration of hog production capacity, and stabilize the production and market supply of hogs. According to the original plan, by the end of last year, the hog inventory was to be returned to that of normal years, in other words, 80% of the level in 2017. By the end of last year, the inventory had returned to more than 92%, which was 12 percentage points higher than expected. Therefore, recently, and especially before and after the "two festivals" (New Year's Day and Chinese New Year), there has not been such a substantial increase as in the previous period. At present, the overall momentum of market supply and demand remains good.
Going forward, as the newly increased hog production capacity gradually turns into pork production, the tensest period of pork market supply has now passed, and the relationship between supply and demand will become more and more relaxed. It is estimated that in the first quarter of this year, around March, the pig population will be around 40% higher than it was during the same period last year. By the second quarter, or around June, the hog inventory will have returned to the normal level of 2017. In the second half of the year, market pigs slaughtered and pork supply will gradually return to the normal annual level.
This year's No. 1 central document attaches great importance to this issue, and requires the protection of hog production capacity and improvements to the long-term mechanism for the stable and orderly development of the pig industry. Therefore, we should not only focus on the current recovery, but also on stable, long-term production. We are very familiar with the hog cycle. We were thrown off course by this cycle, and cannot let this happen again in the future. For that reason, we are now studying and considering — in addition to comprehensive measures — how to preserve the hog production capacity. When there is large supply, prices are low, and some enterprises cannot pay their bills, effective measures are needed to prevent the enterprises from killing sows and cutting the size of their pig farms. We should focus on this key task to preserve production capacity and manage the hog cycle. We will closely monitor the dynamics of production development, and be quick to introduce specific measures to stabilize and preserve production capacity, so as to ensure the stable development of the pig industry.
I would also like to mention something I observed during my travels to Beijing, Tianjin and other places before the Spring Festival to inspect the production and promotion of the "vegetable basket." The first impression at that time was that generally, we felt satisfied that although many people stayed where they worked during the Spring Festival holiday, the growth of production was sufficient. We were also thinking of various ways to break through blockage points in the market. But on the other hand, we saw that the price of some items had fallen, such as eggs, which dropped to around 8 yuan per kg, and the cost is 8 yuan per kg. Therefore, the price of agricultural products, including "vegetable basket" products, should not be as low as possible, because if the price is too low, farmers will no longer be able to produce them and the next cycle will be full of fluctuations. Therefore, we should work to find a balance of interests. Thank you.
