Taiwan hog farmers have decided to reduce their production by around 20,000 head in December to help boost falling pork prices on the domestic market, an industry leader said Wednesday.
Pig farmers made the decision after reaching an agreement with the Cabinet-level Council of Agriculture (COA) earlier the same day, said ROC Swine Association Chairman Pan Lien-chou. Among them, state-run Taiwan Sugar Corp. alone will cut the number of the pigs it raises by 6,000, he added.

 

According to Pan, the local pig farming industry has been mired in a difficult situation because of sliding pork prices, which have fallen to about NT$5,700 (US$170) per 100 kilograms from NT$7,000 per 100 kilograms early this year due to higher feed prices.

 

The average production cost of pork is around NT$6,500 per 100 kilograms, Pan added.

 

Head of the Pingtung hog farming association, Wang Shun-li, ascribed the declining pork prices to a sagging local economy and the importation of foreign pork. He argued that pork imports tainted with illegal chemical substances -- such as ractopamine and melamine -- should be banned.

 

To help sell locally produced fresh and fine-quality pork, the Pingtung association will organize a fair featuring tasty dishes prepared with Taiwanese pork at a local park in Chaochou township, he said. ADVERTISEMENT

 

In July 2007, two shipments of pork from the United States were found to contain ractopamine, a drug that is used as a feed additive to promote leanness in pigs.

 

Two weeks later, a sample of domestic pork was also found to be tainted with the same drug -- provoking widespread fear among local consumers and dealing a heavy blow to pork prices. The addition of ractopamine, also known by the trade name Paylean, to pig feed has been banned in Taiwan since 2006.