Pork on the Rise

Due to the African swine flu, pork prices have surged to new heights that haven’t been seen in nearly twenty years. Since there are not any vaccines or cures for the disease, it can only be controlled by mass killing, which has caused an immediate shortage of pigs in China. According to statistics from The New York Times, more than a million pigs were culled. Pork prices have risen from 20 yuan to nearly 50 yuan per kilogram in the markets. But China, as one of the world’s largest agricultural importer and exporter, is quietly fighting this alarming disease. The Chinese government is taking this crisis seriously due to two reasons: the variety of uses of pork in Chinese cuisine and impact on the economy. Chinese cuisine is largely based on pork itself and Chinese citizens eat it daily, with dishes ranging from Ma Po tofu to dumplings. Due to the increase in the price of pork, consumers are frustrated because they don’t want to change pork to beef or chicken in their daily dishes. Roy Shi, one of the juniors in AISG that has lived in China for his entire life, stated that “pork really plays an important role in Chinese cuisine and since my mom is Chinese, most of her cooking involves pork. [However], due to the high price of pork, our family is extremely frustrated and had to switch our diet to other meats, and it has been troubling for months already.” Besides the importance of pork in Chinese cuisine, another reason is the impact on the economy. To understand why, first we have to know what complementary goods are. Complementary goods are goods that are used together, if one increases in popularity, the other increases as well. Pork is a complementary good for a wide range use of daily items. Some examples would be barbecue sauce, cooking pans, or even corn, but most importantly is corn. According to statistics, corn plays an important role in China’s economy. It accounts almost 8 percent of China’s gross domestic product with over 257 tons in 2018. However, due to African Swine flu, more than 23 million tons of corn would not be put in use, which is almost 25 percent of China’s total pig feed. This could be devastating to China’s economy. The outbreak of swine flu is truly devastating to the Chinese market, adding on to more troubles such as the current state of Hong Kong and trade war with America. Thankfully, since the start of September, the price of pork has been decreasing, which can turn the tide for the Chinese citizens.