China considers bailout of pig farmers

The National Bureau of Statistics says pork prices fell 28.6 percent in April from the same month last year, China Daily reported Wednesday/ The decline has led the government to consider buying up large quantities of pork to stabilize prices, the newspaper said.

Pig farmers have been told to stop expanding their farms in light of fear of the A H1N1 flu and a glut of hogs, the report said.

One farmer was quoted as saying hogs sold to the slaughterhouse currently fetch only about the half the average of $2.2 per kilogram of last August. He said farmers also have been hit by rising feed costs.

The bailout program may start in a month, Zhou Wangjun with the National Development and Reform Commission said, without providing details.

"All I can say is that the price would be relatively higher than the current market price," Zhou was quoted as saying.

The current glut also was blamed on reduced seasonal demand during warmer months, the report said.

"There will be a severe oversupply of pork until this time next year and we are warning farmers now," Zhou said.

China, the newspaper said, is the world's largest pork producing country, providing a livelihood to millions of families. The country produced 46 million tons of pork in 2008.

Copyright 2009 by United Press International.