Surging pork prices may spur inflation

China’s average wholesale pork prices hit a record high in mid-June, rising as much as US$3.89 per kilogram – nearly 70% higher than a year ago – putting even more upward pressure on the country’s surging prices, the South China Morning Post reported. One of China’s key indicators of inflation, it has now surpassed record highs from 2008. In search of lower prices, many pig traders from southern provinces have traveled to central and northeastern provinces to buy pigs. “Five days ago the local price of pigs sold for slaughter was RMB20 (US$3.09) per kg, and three days ago it dropped to RMB18 (US$2.79),” said Jian Zhenyun, head of a pig farming association in Changchun, Jilin province. “Then all the southern trucks arrived.”