Frozen pork trading irregularities: Fair Trade Commission investigates 5 companies
This year the price of pigs soared past the NT$80 per kg mark, and there were reports that a cold storage plant had stockpiled 1,500 metric tons of pork. The Council of Agriculture (COA) examined trading data from February 5 to March 6 and compared it with data from the same period last year, finding that among the 29 cold storage plants nationwide, 5 had abnormal trading volumes or prices. The data has been sent to the Fair Trade Commission (FTC), and today two teams were also dispatched to conduct on-site inspections together with the FTC, though the COA declined to reveal the names of the companies. Chu Ching-cheng, deputy director of the COA's Department of Animal Industry, said the detailed results still require further investigation and the timing of their release is undetermined, "but we will certainly do it as soon as possible."
The COA also found that pig farmers were holding back sales. The trading weight of a single pig exceeded the normal 120 kg. COA Deputy Minister Wang Cheng-teng said pigs over 120 kg may affect the antibody titer of foot-and-mouth disease vaccine, and that detailed monitoring would be carried out in the future, urging pig farmers not to hold back sales.
Top 10 frozen meat companies, 5 with abnormal trading results
This year the price of pigs has remained high, climbing from NT$70 per kg before the Lunar New Year all the way to a high of NT$83, leaving the public and food vendors crying out that they cannot cope. Today it rose slightly to NT$80.88, yet a frozen meat company was reported for stockpiling 1,500 metric tons of pork. Last week the COA investigated 22 meat markets and 29 cold storage companies, specifically listing the trading data of the top 10 cold storage companies from February 5 to March 6 and sending it to the FTC.
Chu Ching-cheng, deputy director of the COA's Department of Animal Industry, said the 10 cold storage companies alone account for 87% of Taiwan, China's meat market. By comparing the procurement quantities with the same period last year and the companies' average trading prices, it was found that 5 of them did not reduce their procurement as much as the others, or had prices higher than the average. Today two teams were dispatched to investigate together with the FTC, but he could not promise when the results would be released.
COA Deputy Minister Hu Hsing-hua said that after the Lunar New Year, primary and secondary schools gradually reopen, and companies may stockpile goods in response to group meal demand, but only by comparing the companies' data from the same period last year can it be known whether there is any abnormality. The COA has already sent the relevant data to the FTC, which will make the judgment.
Pigs too large may affect foot-and-mouth disease vaccine efficacy
In addition to stockpiling by cold storage plants, the COA pointed out that pig farmers, seeing prices soar, have been holding back sales. A pig's normal trading weight is about 120 kg, but the average weight of pigs auctioned recently is markedly higher than in the same period in previous years, which may affect resistance to foot-and-mouth disease.
Wang Cheng-teng said that the current foot-and-mouth disease vaccination schedule is calculated on the basis of 118 kg. If the rearing time is extended, the antibody titer will decline accordingly. The COA will ask inspectors to take samples before auctions at meat markets, to strengthen monitoring of the foot-and-mouth disease vaccine antibody titer and drug residues in large pigs. Violators may be fined NT$10,000 to NT$50,000 under the Statute for Prevention and Control of Infectious Animal Diseases.
The COA stressed that farmers should not hold back sales. In April, pigs will be imported under a special program to stabilise the domestic market, but the "separation of beef and pork policy" will be firmly maintained, and US pigs containing ractopamine will not be imported. Taiwan Sugar Corporation will also be asked to release pigs for adjustment, and frozen meat companies need not rush to buy.
