Why it’s more pricey to get pork on your fork in South Australia

Pressure is set to remain high on global pork prices this year, putting Adelaide eateries under pressure. But why is this so?

• Global demand and drought means red meat prices will rise more

Adelaide eateries are under pressure from rising pork prices, with some opting to up their prices and others looking at ways to absorb the growing cost.

Pressure is set to remain high on global pork prices this year, in large part due to the massive populations of pigs that are being wiped out by African Swine Fever in China.

Meat & Livestock Australia global analyst Tim Ryan said estimates of the pork shortage had been revised higher, with most commentary placing the contraction at between 20 per cent to 40 per cent, equating to a massive 10 million tonnes to 20 million tonnes less pork produced.

To show just how much dramatic the Chinese pork issue is, the lower forecast of 10 million tonnes less pork is the equal of last year’s total world trade in beef, which was 10.6 million tonnes.

FOOD FOR THOUGHT: Mamachau owner Linh Nguyen says her Vietnamese restaurant has been under pressure from rising pork prices. Picture: Tait Schmaal

“Even at the conservative end of the shortage forecast, there simply is not enough traded meat around the world, let alone out of Australia, to cover any immediate deficits in China,” Mr Ryan said.

Australian Pork Limited general manager of marketing Peter Haydon said while pork prices had risen, they were still relatively affordable, with farmers receiving about $3.30 a kilogram.

“Pork prices have gone up in the past year, but if you look back, they’re still lower than they were in late 2016,” he said.

“At the moment, we’re not a long way away from the long-term average farmgate price.

“But we’re going from a very low price level, where producers were losing a lot of money, to the point where producers are almost breaking even.

“There’s still profitability challenges, as grain prices have been really high because of the drought.”

Mr Haydon said the shortage of pork globally was set to keep upward pressure on prices.

“A global production drop of this scale has never been seen before,” he said.

“But with Australian costs of production so high, especially for labour and power costs, the global price rise would need to be significant before it had a major effect on Australian producers profitability.”

Mamachau owner Linh Nguyen said pork costs for her business had risen by about 15 per cent in the past year.

Ms Nguyen said while the price of their pork dishes had remained stable, the business could be forced to lift them to cover costs in the future.

The eatery has been introducing new vegetarian dishes such as eggplant bao in a bid to offset rising meat costs.

“We’re trying to get creative with our offering, as we’ve been notified by our meat suppliers that there could be further prices increases at any time,” she said.

“It is difficult for us, because pork is one of our staple dishes, and one of our most popular, especially during winter. It’s a real comfort food.”