BEIJING (Reuters) -China’s state planner said on Friday that the country’s supply of hogs was sufficient, despite a recent surge in prices that some have attributed to declining production.
The National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) said in a statement on its official Wechat account that it had recently met with leading pig breeders and processors to assess the current supply and demand of pork.
“All parties believe that the current production capacity of live pigs is generally reasonable and sufficient, and the number of fertile sows has continued to rise,” it said.
The supply of live hogs will increase in coming months ahead of the peak demand period, keeping the price “within a reasonable range”, it added.
China’s hog prices have surged about 40% since the start of the year to 22.5 yuan ($3.25) per kg in major producing province, Henan.
The rising hog prices are pushing up the price of China’s staple meat, at a time when economic growth is flagging.
Large producers and analysts say that supply has declined after farmers suffered heavy losses since last summer, leading many to reduce their breeding herds.
NDRC said companies have blamed some media for exaggerating the price rises.
It said it will pay close attention to the market, and take measures when needed to ensure that hog prices remained reasonable.
($1 = 6.9332 Chinese yuan renminbi)
(Reporting by Dominique Patton; Editing by Himani Sarkar and Kim Coghill)
