Home » Opinion » Chinese Views
Surging pork prices raise questions about human appetites in a market-driven world
Print Edition
THERE’S been a string of media reports about soaring pork prices of late.
Such news items are nothing new to long-time market watchers. Pork prices rise and fall according to what is popularly known as the “pig cycle” — a process whereby dwindling supplies of pork lead naturally to higher prices, which in turn results in an excess of production that eventually exerts downward pressure on prices.
In a nation where pork is the staple meat, however, the recent price surge has touched a nerve.
The latest spike is at once odd and normal. It’s odd in that summer usually sees a downturn in pork consumption. Yet the shift in prices also appears to be in keeping with the long-term market cycle mentioned above.
In a report published by Xinmin Evening News on Tuesday, a local wholesaler named Wu Xingguo blamed the recent increase in pork prices mainly on a shortage of supply and said prices may well remain high until May of next year.
Speculators have predictably jumped on the opportunity to turn a quick profit, much in the same way they did in the past to drive up prices of daily necessities such as ginger, garlic and sugar. Many are already buying shares of listed companies that specialize in husbandry or trade in pork products.
For economists, the price of pork is a significant indicator of consumer inflation. Periodic fluctuations of pork prices are indeed a bread-and-butter issue. Cyberspace is seething with complaints about the lack of official intervention — for example, some have called for quotas limiting the number of pigs raised each year — that would insulate the national economy from the pork-induced vagaries.
While human beings do often behave in accordance with established economic principles, we are more than an unthinking herd enslaved to such rules. Fluctuations in pork prices are a poignant reminder of the market’s pitfalls and problems when it comes to meeting our consumption needs.
Half of the world’s pork supply is reportedly gobbled up by the Chinese. Consumption of pork has grown rapidly in recent years thanks to higher agricultural productivity and a national shift toward a more Western-style, meat-based diet. Indeed, meat consumption is regarded as a symbol of abundance and prosperity. This is despite warnings from some public policy advisors that meat production on a grand scale may pose a danger to China’s agriculture, environment as well as public health.
Insatiable appetite
The Economist even ran an article in late 2014, titled “Swine in China: Empire of the pig,” which describes China’s seemingly insatiable appetite for pork. According to the report, each person in China consumes 39 kilograms of pork per year — or roughly one third of an average pig. However alarmist such reports may sound, there is at least some truth to them, especially in the predictions of a looming public health crisis. And are periodic price fluctuations — and subsequent sensationalism — a price worth paying to become a nation of carnivores?
As the Xinmin Evening News article pointed out, a rational reaction to the price increase is simply to consume less pork and eat more vegetables. Can we not survive on a diet that includes more vegetables? Are store shelves not stocked with plenty of pork substitutes?
It’s true that economic principles are unavoidable and market forces cannot be easily overridden by official interference. Nor should they be.
But the government does have a role to play, not in setting prices, but in monitoring price changes and releasing timely market information so that those engaged in agricultural production can adjust their output accordingly.
Still, it ought to be pointed out that human desires are actually much more elastic than many assume. While news of soaring prices can give the impression that Chinese demand for pork is monstrously rigid, we actually know better than to let economic calculations get the better of us. Human beings can be prisoners of economic logic, but they can be masters of their own will as well.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
