China's pork export slumps

The Chinese mainland saw a big-margin decline in pork export in the first four months of this year, due largely to mounting pig raising cost, sources with the General Administration of Customs said on Saturday.

From January and April, the mainland sold 24,000 tons of pork abroad, a decrease of 54.4 percent from the same period of last year.

The export value was 79.79 million U.S. dollars, down 14.1 percent. But the average price rose 96.4 percent year-on-year to 3,396 U.S. dollars per ton.

Of the total exports, Hong Kong made up for 79.2 percent, or 19,000 tons, down 37.3 percent.

A major factor is a the Chinese earthquake earlier this year, hitting the southwestern province of Sichuan, which accounts for 11 percent of China's total pork output and nearly one third of the exports nationwide.

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