Snappy newsletters. Simple Facebook sharing. Spirited comments. Sweet features are waiting… GET THEM NOW!

Hot on Facebook
Guy Buys $123 Safe on eBay, Finds $26,000 Inside Seller tries to get half the cash back, fails »

Pork Shortage Plagues China

Beijing dips into pork preserve to avoid crisis

By Caroline Zimmerman,  Newser User

Posted Feb 3, 2008 6:09 PM CST
Email

(Newser) – Pigjacking is China's latest crime. Sounds like a joke? Crooks are scoffing the swine thanks to a boom economy and a pig shortage that has hogs highly valued. With a record winter storm stranding thousands and sparking unrest, Beijing is dipping into its official pork preserve—hoping to calm a country that gets 65% of its protein from porkers, Newsweek reports.

But snow is likely to stall shipments and keep sow from reaching dinner tables in time for China's Lunar New Year. What's more, a stymied pork economy could reach other shores: Analysts warn that China will soon be a net importer and pig problems may cause grain prices to spike worldwide.

A Chinese woman buys pork from a market store in Beijing, Thursday, Jan. 17, 2008. China's temporary price control measures are unlikely to change the trend of rising prices, and increasing production is the key to stemming inflation, an official from the country's top economic planner said Thursday. (AP Photo/Andy...
A Chinese woman buys pork from a market store in Beijing, Thursday, Jan. 17, 2008. China's temporary price control measures are unlikely to change the trend of rising prices, and increasing production...   (Associated Press)
Officers of the Beijing Administration for Industry and Commerce check water-injected pigs found at an illegal pork processing station in Beijing Wednesday, June 27, 2007. Four trucks with water-injected pigs were captured during the campaign to crack down on illegal pork processing in Beijing. The campaign came days after the...
Officers of the Beijing Administration for Industry and Commerce check water-injected pigs found at an illegal pork processing station in Beijing Wednesday, June 27, 2007. Four trucks with water-injected...   (Associated Press)
A worker smokes a cigarette while carrying meat at the Tianhe pork processing factory in Guangzhou, in south China's Guangdong province on Monday, Aug. 6, 2007. Over 1,000 pigs are slaughtered at the factory every day. (AP Photo/Color China Photo)
A worker smokes a cigarette while carrying meat at the Tianhe pork processing factory in Guangzhou, in south China's Guangdong province on Monday, Aug. 6, 2007. Over 1,000 pigs are slaughtered at the...   (Associated Press)
« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow
To report an error on this story, notify our editors.
A snapshot of the day's best news stories.
 
COMMENTS
Be the first to comment on this story.

China to release 18K pounds of pork for New Year
Bloomberg

US company won't sell pork to China
Reuters

 
China • US economy • markets • pig • grain • uprising • pork

More Newser Stories

Chinese Pork Prices Soar

Dow Rises 100+ on Retail Sales Report

The Grass Isn't Greener in China

Pork Is Natural Viagra: Argentine President

US Needs to Regain Faith in the Future
NEWS FROM OUR PARTNERS
Other Sites We Like:   24/7 Wall St.   |   Betty Confidential   |   BuzzFeed   |   Cracked   |   Fark   |   Timelines   |   The Frisky   |   Geek Sugar   |   NewsOne