Pork prices in Qujing, Yunnan, fell steadily year-on-year this year

The rise and fall of pork prices touches people's hearts and is closely tied to ordinary people's lives. A reporter visited the market in Qilin urban area yesterday and interviewed relevant people, learning that pork prices, which had surged all the way last year, began to steadily fall back starting this year, and after the Mid-Autumn Festival the price changes became even more noticeable.

Last year prices doubled, and residents felt the pinch when eating

It is understood that starting in the second half of 2014, because of rising feed costs and labor costs, fewer farmers raised pigs, and pork prices began to rise slowly. By July, August, September and October of 2015 they reached a peak, rising from an original wholesale price of 13-15 yuan per kg to a maximum wholesale price of 28 yuan per kg, while the retail price reached as high as 42 yuan per kg. The persistently high prices made some residents feel the pinch even when buying meat: “Pork ribs are selling for 40 yuan per kg, more than 10 yuan more expensive than before. We really can't afford to eat them.”

“There's no way around it. We buy at a high price, so naturally we sell at a high price,” some meat vendors said matter-of-factly. The reporter learned that because the purchase price of pork was high and vendors feared it would not sell well, some meat vendors switched to other businesses, which in turn pushed up meat prices in the Qilin market.

Compared with pork prices, the prices of beef, fish, chicken and other meats have hardly changed much. During interviews, some residents said they would change their buying habits, buying less pork and more other meats.

Gradual decline since this year

Residents can eat more pork again

Since the beginning of this year, observant residents have noticed that pork prices began to loosen, and meat vendors also became more flexible, no longer casually quoting 38, 40 or 42, but instead saying things could be “negotiated.” Yesterday at Longtan Farmers Market, an older woman was choosing pork ribs at the stall of a vendor from Xuanwei. She asked how much the front ribs cost per kg, and the vendor said 36 yuan. After haggling, she finally bought the ribs at 30 yuan. The reporter calculated that last year this would have cost at least 36 yuan per kg.

In addition, pork with a mix of fat and lean was 32-35 yuan per kg, whereas last year it was quoted at 38 yuan; although several meat stalls quoted 40 yuan for pure lean meat, the vendors' tone was relatively softer, and it was believed the price could be negotiated down.

Relevant staff at the Qilin District Animal Husbandry Bureau said that because meat prices rose sharply in the past year or two and profits were high, more farmers began raising pigs, and breeding farms have also been expanding their scale every year, so pork prices on the market have begun to steadily fall back. The current wholesale price of pork is 21 yuan per kg at the low end and 24 yuan at the high end, 4 to 7 yuan lower than last year's peak. As for whether pork prices can return to the level before the price increase, the person said they will not this year, and in recent years it will probably be difficult. “They will slowly fall back to a stable level,” the person said.