Quanzhou pig industry suffered a "cold winter", farmers lost 450 yuan per pig

The "second brother", who once boosted CPI all the way, has been getting lower recently. As of recently, this state of continuous decline has lasted for more than three months, and the wholesale price of pork in the market has dropped by 30%. Farmers have to lose 400 million yuan for each live pig out of the pen. When pig farmers shouted losses, consumers did not buy cheaper pork because of falling pig prices. Many citizens question why this is so. With doubt, the reporter visited people in the industry and relevant departments.

The price of the pig dropped, and the farmers lost about 450 yuan each.

"the price of live pigs is 5 yuan in Nanan and 5.3 yuan in Jinjiang. the market in the urban area is about 5.5 yuan, and the market is updated every day, but the curve is still downward and has not stopped falling." The reporter learned from the industry that, in line with the domestic market, Quanzhou's local pig purchase price is still "falling endlessly."

"Pork prices have continued to fall, similar to the worst in 2006, while feed and labor have risen a lot since then, and the pig industry is going through a cold winter of the past 10 years." Cai Xisen, chairman of Fujian Yassen Agricultural Comprehensive Development Co., Ltd., told reporters helplessly that 1800 pigs were fenced in March, with a loss of 700000 yuan, and the overall loss of pig farms in the first quarter of this year has exceeded 1 million yuan.

Yassen Agriculture is the first agricultural enterprise listed in the Quanzhou Operation Center of the Shanghai Stock Exchange. One of its main businesses is pig farming. At present, the stock size is about 13000, and the annual number of live pigs is nearly 30, 000. Cai Xisen calculated an account for the reporter: "for a 200 jin pig, the cost of pig fry is 300 yuan. It takes at least five and a half months to raise 550 jin feed. The average price of feed purchased in bulk is 1.6 yuan per jin. The total feed cost is 880 yuan. The purchasing cost of vaccines and minerals and other additives is equivalent to 100 yuan per head, plus the labor cost of 70 yuan per head and the depreciation fee of 100 yuan for water, electricity and equipment." The breeding cost of each live pig is about 1450 yuan, and according to the current price of about 5.0yuan, the loss of a live pig is about 450yuan. "

The experience of Yassen Agriculture is only a representative of Quanzhou pig farming industry. Xu Junfeng, president of Nanan Pig raising Association, told reporters that at present, the whole industry is in a quagmire of losses, the situation is difficult to say optimistic, some weak breeding enterprises may be difficult to sustain, have to choose to "cut meat and leave the market." But at the same time, he believes that from a general point of view, pig prices are already at the bottom of market fluctuations, but due to the impact of the off-season demand, they may hover in the trough for a long period of time, and it will take time to stop falling and pick up. The retail price of meat is still expensive, symbolically reduced by 0.5 yuan.

On the one hand, cheap pigs hurt farmers, on the other hand, pork prices are high and difficult. The data of "Retail prices of main necessities of Life in Quanzhou City" published on Quanzhou Price Information Network show that the price of middle meat and leg meat is 10.0 yuan per jin, and lean meat is 13.0 yuan per jin, which is only 0.5 yuan lower than that of the same period last year.

"in the past, the price of a jin of ribs was 22 yuan, but now the price of live pigs has dropped, and a jin of ribs also costs about 20 yuan." At the Gushan Farmer Market in Jinjiang, a consumer who is selecting pork told reporters that since she is in charge of family meals, she visits the vegetable market every day. She feels that pork prices have dropped a little recently, "but the drop is very small. The price drop is not obvious."

During the visit, the reporter inquired from the vendors at the Jinjiang Gushan Farmers' Market, the Dongmei Market and the Xinmen vegetable Market in the central urban area, and learned that in the morning market, the price of skinned pork was about 10 yuan per jin, and the price of three layers of meat was 9 yuan per catty. Compared with the same period last year, the price dropped by about 10%; the price of the front leg of the pig dropped from 11 yuan to 10 yuan, and the price of pig's foot dropped by about 0.5 yuan. The price of ribs is 20 yuan per jin, which is 2 yuan lower than that of the same period last year, and the drop is no more than 10%. The prices of pig offal, such as pig heart, tripe and pig kidney, which are locally regarded as traditional nourishing ingredients, are still strong.

"the price of live pigs has fallen fiercely, so why is the price of meat in the vegetable market only symbolically reduced, and it is difficult for consumers to feel the sincerity of its price reduction and promotion?" Pork prices fell from the source to the terminal transmission effect is not obvious, making the long-term concern about meat prices industry insiders Lin Jindong puzzled. In its view, according to the meat production rate of 50%, for every 1 yuan drop in the price of live pigs as raw materials, then pork as a commodity in circulation can free up an average price reduction of 2 yuan per jin.

Control the market butcher to enjoy high profits.

"the price transmission is not smooth, and the root of the problem is that the intermediate wholesalers in the pig industry chain control the market and take away high profits; at the same time, meat vendors form price alliances in the vegetable market and control terminal selling prices." The person in charge of the relevant departments of the Quanzhou Economic and Trade Commission told the reporter that because of this, the competent department has been committed to helping aquaculture enterprises to open up the "last kilometer" of production, supply and marketing, improving the bargaining power of aquaculture links, and also benefiting consumers by delivering affordable meat to the market.

"in urban areas, there are two modes of pork supply chain: one is that live pigs are purchased and slaughtered by intermediate wholesalers and then wholesale to vendors in the vegetable market, and the other is that wholesalers deposit the purchased pigs in the slaughterhouse to be slaughtered. Then a small batch is transferred to terminal retail investors such as vendors, and the vendors handle the slaughtering matters on their own." The person in charge of the relevant departments of the Quanzhou Economic and Trade Commission introduced to the reporter that such intermediate wholesalers are called butchers in the industry, but they have nothing to do with slaughterhouses and slaughterhouses as we know them. It is reported that there are 18 slaughterhouses and 57 slaughterhouses in the city. they participate in pig slaughtering and health quarantine procedures, but do not participate in the acquisition and circulation of live pigs.

"in every large vegetable market, there are basically one or two big slaughterers who, as intermediate wholesalers, purchase live pigs from farming enterprises and slaughter them for sale at their own stalls and other small vendors in the market." Cai Xisen said that in the roller coaster market of the pig market in recent years, it is not the first time that butchers engaged in intermediate wholesale take all winners. Because they have a great say in the market, they can independently choose the change range of the meat price corresponding to the pig price-when the pig supply exceeds demand, the pig price falls more than the meat price; when the pig supply is in short supply, the meat price rises faster than the pig price, and the butcher protects the harvest in the fluctuation of the pig purchase price.

"in addition, in the vegetable market, due to long-term coexistence and lack of competition, meat vendors often form a strong price alliance." Xu Junfeng told reporters that no one from vendors will take the initiative to reduce prices, and even in the off-season, prices are usually rarely reduced. by reducing slaughtering, they have caused a tight supply in the pork retail market and a glut in the pig market, forcing them to nibble away at the profits of pig farming, and they can also make a lot of money. It is reported that according to the current market, vendors can make a net profit of about 500 yuan per pig.

Interview notes

Where are the benefits that consumers deserve?

When I generalize the types of entrepreneurs in different industries I have interviewed in my mind, pig farmers can't help being labeled as "simple, honest, and diligent." they are not good at expression and rarely have the opportunity to deal with the media.

And just this time, each of them seems to have endless words to talk to reporters about the falling prices of live pigs. Because these "pig commanders" are full of bitterness and need to make their own voice in front of the butchers who control the market.

As a responsible mainstream media, our attention and promotion have never been absent at the critical moment of the development of every industry and in front of the public interest. Therefore, the report on the decline in pork prices will not be just a report, but we will also stand with readers and continue to pay attention to the failure of the "pig cycle" through investigative reports. whether affordable pork can boost the consumer market and bring tangible benefits to consumers, and other issues, we also look forward to enthusiastic readers to work with us to make suggestions for the health of the industry and the protection of consumer interests.