With the dramatic rise in pork price, the Chinese government has
said that it plans to spend 6.5 billion yuan (US$850 million) this
year to contain pork prices.
The massive government allocation, including 3.8 billion yuan
from the central government, will be mainly used for a
soon-to-be-established insurance scheme that will cover female pigs
against illness and natural disasters, said sources with the
Ministry of Finance.
Pig breeders will get an annual subsidy of 50 yuan for every
female pig insured.
The central government will also spend 470 million yuan this
year to relieve the impact of rising food prices on the lives of
low-income people.
Another 280 million yuan will be allocated to subsidize college
students from low-income families.
A spike in the price of pig feed and cases of blue-ear disease
among the nation's swine has seen pork prices surge dramatically
this year.
According to official figures, 19,000 pigs were killed after
outbreaks of the disease in 194 Chinese counties up until the end
of May.
Some farmers are now reluctant to raise pigs for fear they might
be stricken by the disease.
The central government has responded by making available 285
million yuan for a mass immunization program, which local
governments will also subsidize.
Figures from the Ministry of Agriculture show live pigs were 71
percent more expensive in April than in March, and pork was 29.3
percent higher, largely due to tighter supply.
In Beijing, pork prices have gone up more than 30 percent, while
wholesale prices in Shanghai hit 16 yuan (US$2.1) per kilogram, a
10-year high, up 20 percent month-on-month. Food prices have
climbed this year, pushing China's inflation rate to 3.4 percent in
May compared with a year earlier.
(Xinhua News Agency June 24, 2007)