Chinese Pork Prices Soar

Rise triggers inflation, which reverberates around the world
By Colleen Barry,  Newser Staff
Posted Jun 8, 2007 8:23 AM CDT
Chinese Pork Prices Soar
A Chinese stock investor walks past a price board.   (Getty Images)

This price of pigs and pork in China has skyrocketed this year, nudging up domestic inflation and triggering worries about a domino effect in worldwide markets. The government is scrambling to react to pressure on the price of the vital commodity, the Times reports, even weighing the possibility of releasing part of the intriguingly named strategic pork reserve.

Rising vet bills and feed prices—the growing demand for ethanol cuts into the supply of corn—have helped drive the jump, which in turn is causing consumers to cut back and turn to other sources of protein. More worrisome for the government are the big-picture implications for income inequality, rising wages, and the export market for low-priced consumer goods. (More China stories.)

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