Press Releases
Food and Health Bureau responds to supply of live pigs from the Mainland
A spokesman for the Food and Health Bureau (FHB) today (January 4) responds
to media enquiries on the recent supply of live pigs from the Mainland to
Hong Kong, saying that today there were about 3 889 live pigs imported from
the Mainland and the average wholesale price ranged between $1,650 and
$1,830 per picul.
The spokesman said the Government has been closely monitoring the supply of
live pigs. In the past month, the supply of live pigs from the Mainland was
relatively steady, with about 4 000 pigs on most of the days, and averaged
at 4 122 for the whole month. This level was comparable to the supply in the
preceding two months, and that in December of 2010 and 2011.
Comparing the daily supply figures of live pigs from the Mainland in the
month of December of the past three years, it was noted that there was a
substantive drop in supply in the period surrounding the Christmas day and
the New Year's Eve, which might possibly be explained by the decreasing
demand for live pigs locally after the Chinese Winter Solstice Festival and
the holiday season. According to information gathered from the wholesale
agents, the new arrangement of having prolonged holidays before the New Year
Day in the Mainland and the earlier snowstorms in some Mainland provinces
had to a certain extent affected the recent supply of live pigs from the
Mainland. The data and graph on the daily supply of live pigs from the
Mainland and locally in the month of December over the past three years are
shown in Annex.
The spokesman continued: "Concerning the price level, the average auction
price for live pigs from the Mainland was $1,385 per picul for the month of
December. We note that there was a significant increase in the average
auction price over the last few days. Regarding the underlying
considerations for the pricing of pork, we had been previously advised by
the trade that apart from the purchase cost, they would also take into
account other operational expenses, such as transportation cost, salaries
and rental. We could see that the recent increase in the average wholesale
price of live pigs was to a certain extent a result of the upsurge of
auction prices in a few individual deals. It is noted that the price of live
pigs also saw a rising trend most recently in the Mainland and this would
have certain impact on the supply and price of the live pigs imported from
the Mainland into Hong Kong.
"To enhance market transparency, the Food and Environmental Hygiene
Department has made available on their website information on the number and
average auction price of live pigs imported from the Mainland every day for
reference by the trade and the public. The hyperlink to the website is:
www.fehd.gov.hk/tc_chi/sh/data/supply_tw.html.
"The majority of live pigs supplied in Hong Kong are from the Mainland (the
rest from local farms). To ensure a stable supply of live pigs, FHB has
maintained close liaison with relevant Mainland authorities and the import
agents. In July 2007, after discussion between FHB and the Ministry of
Commerce, the live pig market was opened up to foster competition. In
October 2007, the number of wholesale import agents for live pig supplied to
Hong Kong from the Mainland increased to three from one originally."
In order to secure stable food supply and provide more choices for
consumers, the Government has been encouraging the trade to expand the
sources of food supply. In August 2006, the trade started to import chilled
pork from the Mainland, providing citizens with an alternative option.
Consumption of chilled pork has increased from a total of around 4 600
tonnes in 2006 to around 9 000 tonnes in 2012 (January to September).
"The Government will continue to monitor the supply of live pigs and
maintain dialogue with the trade and relevant Mainland authorities with a
view to securing stable supply of live pigs as far as possible," the
spokesman added.
Ends/Friday, January 4, 2013
Issued at HKT 21:55
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