Govt. Urged Look into 'Unprecedented Crunch'
TAIWAN - A lawmaker has urged the central government to look into what he called an "unprecedented crunch" facing Taiwan's pig farmers whose livelihoods have been seriously affected by rising feed prices and steep falls in pork prices.
12 September 2008
2 minute read
Speaking at a news conference, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmaker Pan Meng-an asked the government to reduce pork imports to help stabilize pork prices in Taiwan.
During the first five months of this year before President Ma Yin jeou came to power, pork imports were maintained at a level between 1,000-1,2000 tons per month, he said.
However, The China Post reports that after Ma assumed office May 20, pork imports surged to 2,700 tons in June, 4,000 tons in July and 4,900 tons in August -- causing pork prices in the domestic market to plummet rapidly despite the fact that almost all other product prices were still rising, he said.
Pork prices picked up to NT$7,729 per 100 kilograms in early June before plunging to the current level of between NT$6,200 and NT$6,400 (US$200), according to Pan.
