In a country that consumes half the world’s pork, price swings have become so large that they hurt the ability of domestic producers to keep up with demand, even with a herd of 450 million pigs. Imports are the highest ever and exceed all other buyers. The Dalian Commodity Exchange, China’s largest marketplace for everything from corn and eggs to iron ore, is planning to offer futures trading in hogs for the first time next year, according to Bloomberg. The contract could help farmers, meat buyers and investors better plan for price moves as well as encourage consolidation in the industry. Based on the $295 billion of the animals bought and sold annually in China, a popular contract on Dalian could generate trading valued at 10 times that amount.
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