N Korea’s Imports of Chinese Pork Surge In Jan-July
CHINA - North Korea’s pork imports from China increased sharply during the first seven months of this year, according to figures by the Chinese maritime customs office.
15 September 2004
2 minute read
North Korea imported US$76 million worth of pork from China in the January - July period, up almost fourfold from $19.3 million a year ago.
North Korea's imports of pork from China stood below $1 million annually until four years ago. However, the figure jumped almost sevenfold to 5.16 million in 2001, rose to 9.7 million in 2002 and skyrocketed to 56.4 million in 2003.
In contrary, the number of pigs cultivated in North Korea had been at a standstill since 2000. Experts attributed the lack of growth to an insufficient amount of feed.
"Imports of pork seemed to have increased with the growth of consumer demand after the economic reforms," Gwon Tae-jin, a research fellow at the Korea Rural Economic Institute, said.
"The authorities may have been directly involved in the increased pork imports to shield the market from surging pork prices caused by increasing demand," he added.
Source: eFeedLink - 15th September 2004
