Labor costs are up too, "by at least 20 percent from last year", Feng said. "Migrant workers now earn 2,500 yuan or 3,000 yuan a month and their monthly wage was about 2,000 yuan last year."
And it's not just the wages that are a problem, Li said.
"I now pay the keepers 100 yuan a day, though I paid them 5 yuan a day in the past years. But if I were to offer 100,000 yuan a year, I would still have trouble hiring a breeding technician because few college graduates are willing to work in the hot, dirty pigsties with no breaks."
Swings, stability
Pig farmers said the market is basically self-regulating, which means there can be wide price fluctuations. The central government does maintain a livestock reserve so it can provide more pork when the retail price is very high. It also provides occasional subsidies to farmers, such as one last year when the market price dropped so low.
Wang Yugui received 1,500 yuan, which eased the strain a bit, but he said it made just a small dent in his loss of 10,000 yuan.
Wang Shunlin said, "We farmers prefer a stable price for pigs as we will suffer less loss when the price undergoes a dramatic drop."
Meanwhile, pig production continues at a stable pace. A female pig, called a gilt, reaches maturity at about 8 months, but farmers usually wait two months more before letting her mate because she will produce bigger litters. Gestation takes about 114 days, four months, and once the piglets arrive, the gilt is called a sow. Piglets need six to eight months to reach market weight, Li said.
The farmer will lose money when the price of pigs for slaughter is below 14 yuan a kg, because the cost of raising a pig runs about 1,500 yuan. If the price hits 19.8 yuan a kg, the farmer can profit about 500 yuan on a 100-kg pig.
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Source:China Daily
Weekly review
And it's not just the wages that are a problem, Li said.
"I now pay the keepers 100 yuan a day, though I paid them 5 yuan a day in the past years. But if I were to offer 100,000 yuan a year, I would still have trouble hiring a breeding technician because few college graduates are willing to work in the hot, dirty pigsties with no breaks."
Swings, stability
Pig farmers said the market is basically self-regulating, which means there can be wide price fluctuations. The central government does maintain a livestock reserve so it can provide more pork when the retail price is very high. It also provides occasional subsidies to farmers, such as one last year when the market price dropped so low.
Wang Yugui received 1,500 yuan, which eased the strain a bit, but he said it made just a small dent in his loss of 10,000 yuan.
Wang Shunlin said, "We farmers prefer a stable price for pigs as we will suffer less loss when the price undergoes a dramatic drop."
Meanwhile, pig production continues at a stable pace. A female pig, called a gilt, reaches maturity at about 8 months, but farmers usually wait two months more before letting her mate because she will produce bigger litters. Gestation takes about 114 days, four months, and once the piglets arrive, the gilt is called a sow. Piglets need six to eight months to reach market weight, Li said.
The farmer will lose money when the price of pigs for slaughter is below 14 yuan a kg, because the cost of raising a pig runs about 1,500 yuan. If the price hits 19.8 yuan a kg, the farmer can profit about 500 yuan on a 100-kg pig.
1 2 3 4 5
Source:China Daily
Weekly review
