Chinese families are having to rethink menu options as pork prices soar despite government efforts to rebuild herds decimated by African swine fever and large-scale closures of pig farms for environmental reasons.
Liu Min, a 61-year-old retired cleaning lady, went ahead and bought a small chunk of pork that cost her 21 yuan ($3) during a recent visit to a local fresh market. That's nearly twice what it usually would cost.
After all, you can't make "zhajiang" style noodles without pork to go into its heavy bean-based sauce, Liu said.
In this Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2019, photo, clerks help a customer shop for pork at a meat market in Beijing. Chinese families are having to rethink menu options as pork prices soar despite government efforts to rebuild herds decimated by African swine fever and large-scale closures of pig farms for environmental reasons. (AP PhotoFu Ting)
But pork is a big part of her diet, as it is for most Chinese, and the higher prices are pinching.
"This is having a huge effect on me, a huge one," she said.
Pork prices surged 46.7% in August from a year earlier, adding 1.08 percentage points to a 2.8% rise in the consumer price index. That's hitting Chinese families hard: pork accounts for more than 60% of their meat consumption.
In this Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2019, photo, customers shop for pork at a meat market in Beijing. Chinese families are having to rethink menu options as pork prices soar despite government efforts to rebuild herds decimated by African swine fever and large-scale closures of pig farms for environmental reasons. (AP PhotoFu Ting)
"People complain pork is too expensive and buy less, so business is not going well," said Sun Tiantao, who sells pork in a market in Beijing.
China raises about half of the world's pigs, and the outbreaks of African swine fever that began over a year ago have ravaged its herds. The disease does not infect humans.
To boost pork production, the government announced this week that it will take steps to help revive hog production, prevent and control the disease and upgrade farms to further ensure pork supplies and stable prices.
That will take some doing: in August hog stocks dropped nearly 40% from a year earlier and nearly 10% from July, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs.
The trend is unlikely to reverse anytime soon, and piglet prices had more than doubled from a year earlier to 52.93 yuan ($7.50) per kilogram as of last week, the ministry said.
That means the price of pork will be rising for at least another six months.
"It has to go up, because increasing supply is so difficult and the farmers are leaving, and they are not coming back," said Wang Dan, an analyst for the Economist Intelligence Unit.
The pork crisis has at least one advantage, Wang quipped, allowing China more "flexibility" in its trade talks with the U.S., since smaller herds mean less need to import soybeans for feed.
Human appetites are another question.
"Better to eat less pork," said a story last week in the state-owned newspaper Life Times.
It suggested a change in food habits may be in order.
Experts in China are debating the idea of swapping chicken, beef or even a man-made substitute for pork.
In the meantime, Liu Min sometimes buys eggs instead.
"Eggs are more expensive than earlier, but still cheaper than pork," she said.
AP video producer Olivia Zhang contributed to this report.
DETROIT (AP) — The Oakland Athletics no longer have to wonder where they'll play the next few seasons. That won't make the long goodbye any easier.
The A's reacted to the announcement that this will be their last year in Oakland with a mixture of sadness and relief.
“At least as a player, you know where you’re headed,” outfielder Seth Brown said Friday before a game against the Tigers in Detroit. “There’s obviously a lot of moving parts, a lot of stuff we’re not privy to, so it’s just been kind of a waiting game on our end. Where are we going to go? Where are we going to be? So I think just having that knowledge -- at least we know where we’re going to be playing next year.”
Vivek Ranadivé, who owns the Triple-A Sacramento River Cats, and Oakland Athletics owner John Fisher announced Thursday that the A’s will temporarily relocate to West Sacramento's Sutter Health Park for at least three seasons. The A's are moving to Las Vegas after a new ballpark is constructed.
The River Cats, who are affiliated with the San Francisco Giants, will continue to play at the same facility.
Fisher was unable to reach an agreement with Oakland city officials on extending the lease at Oakland Coliseum, which expires at the end of this season. The A's have played in the city since 1968.
“There's direction now, which we've talked a lot about,” Oakland A's manager Mark Kotsay said. “We've got time to kind of reflect on what this really means from an organizational standpoint, the history that we've had in Oakland, with this being now the final season. There's a lot of emotion that goes behind this.”
It will not only cause some upheaval for the players and staff but also members of the organization that work behind the scenes.
“At the end of the day, we know where we're going to be for the next three seasons after the finish this year and that in itself gives a little bit of stability,” Kotsay said. “At the same time, in the present, it's challenging in certain ways to think about the finality of this organization in Oakland.”
Sacramento will be a much smaller environment to house a major league team. Ranadivé said the River Cats venue currently seats 16,000 when counting the stands, the lawn behind center field and standing room only.
First baseman Ryan Noda is concerned with the facilities. He's hopeful that significant upgrades will be made, much like the Toronto Blue Jays did at Buffalo's Triple-A facility. The Blue Jays played at Buffalo's Sahlen Field in 2020 in 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“New walls, new dugouts, new locker rooms — everything they needed to become a big league stadium,” said Noda, who played some games in Sacramento as a minor leaguer. “As long as we can do something like that, then it'll be all right. But it's definitely going to be different than playing in stadiums that hold 40,000 people.”
Kotsay is confident the upgrades will occur.
“I know it will be of major league baseball quality,” he said. “It's has to be of major league baseball quality. I know the Players Association will make sure that takes place, as they did in Buffalo.”
For the rest of this season, the A's will have to deal with small home crowds and disappointed fans.
“We’re sad for the fans, the diehard fans, who always come to our games, always support us, always support the boys wearing the jersey,” Noda said.
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb
Sacramento Kings owner Vivek Ranadive, center, shakes hands John Fisher, owner of the Oakland Athletics, before the start of a news conference where Fisher announced his team will leave Oakland after this season and play temporarily at a minor league park, during a news conference in West Sacramento, Calif., Thursday, April 4 2024.The A's announced the decision to play at the home of the Sacramento River Cats from 2025-27 with an option for 2028 on Thursday after being unable to reach an agreement to extend their lease in Oakland during that time. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)
John Fisher, owner of the Oakland Athletics baseball team, announces that his team will leave Oakland after this season and play temporarily at a minor league park, during a news conference in West Sacramento, Calif., Thursday, April 4, 2024. The A's announced the decision to play at the home of the Sacramento River Cats from 2025-27 with an option for 2028 on Thursday after being unable to reach an agreement to extend their lease in Oakland during that time. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)
Sutter Health Park, home of the Triple A team Sacramento River Cats, is shown in West Sacramento, Calif., Thursday, April 4, 2024. The Oakland Athletics announced the decision to play at the home of the Sacramento River Cats from 2025-27 with an option for 2028 on Thursday after being unable to reach an agreement to extend their lease in Oakland during that time. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)
Oakland Athletics manager Mark Kotsay walks to the dugout after making a pitching change during the eighth inning of the team's baseball game against the Cleveland Guardians in Oakland, Calif., Sunday, March 31, 2024. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)
