There is currently no cure for African swine fever, which has devastated China’s domestic herds and caused a 70 per cent rise in pork prices due to the resulting shortages. Photo: Reuters
China’s ‘mutant pigs’ could halt pork crisis as DNA researchers fight to tackle African swine fever outbreak
- African swine fever has killed over 100 million pigs in China, sending pork prices and overall consumer inflation to record highs
- China outspends every other country except the United States on research and development with US$445 billion spent in 2017
Topic |
China economy
There is currently no cure for African swine fever, which has devastated China’s domestic herds and caused a 70 per cent rise in pork prices due to the resulting shortages. Photo: Reuters
Chinese workers unload pork in a wholesale hall of a market in Beijing, China, 18 November 2019. The Chinese agricultural ministry has urged all-out efforts in China's nine provincial-level regions to restore hog production while authorities were engaged in efforts to prevent and control African swine fever, according to media reports. Photo: EPA-EFE
China pork crisis far from over, despite green shoots of recovery in pig inventory, analysts say
- On Friday, China’s agricultural ministry said inventory of breeding sows showed the first monthly increase since April 2018, suggesting a ‘bottoming out’
- But analysts are convinced the problem will continue to plague China into next year, with further falls in pig population and surges in pork prices expected
Topic |
African swine fever
Chinese workers unload pork in a wholesale hall of a market in Beijing, China, 18 November 2019. The Chinese agricultural ministry has urged all-out efforts in China's nine provincial-level regions to restore hog production while authorities were engaged in efforts to prevent and control African swine fever, according to media reports. Photo: EPA-EFE