豬肉價格下跌 引發政府憂慮
The Chinese love pork so much that the meat sits prominently on the government's plate of policy considerations.
中國人如此喜歡豬肉，以致於豬肉在中國政府的政策考慮中佔據着重要地位。
That's why it's potentially pertinent that the state television station ran a little-noticed story late Sunday, reporting a further drop in domestic pork prices and warning against diminishing hog-breeding incentives that could lead to a spike in prices later in the year.
這也是爲什麼週日晚間中國國家電視臺一個少有注意的報導可能會相當切題；報導稱，中國國內豬肉價格進一步下跌，並警告稱養豬激勵措施不斷減少可能會導致今年晚些時候肉價飆升。
Statistics from the National Development and Reform Commission, Beijing's top economic planning agency, show that pork prices in major Chinese cities fell 10% in April from a year earlier. If prices continue to fall, farmers will start killing pigs because it makes no sense for them to buy the feed for hogs that are worth little when sold.
中國政府經濟規劃部門國家發展和改革委員會的統計數據顯示，4月份中國主要城市的豬肉價格較上年同期下滑了10%。如果豬肉價格繼續下跌，農民會開始宰豬，因爲如果豬賣不出好價格，他們再購買飼料養豬就沒有意義了。
The TV report warned the government is already considering boosting the country's pork reserves and offering subsidies to pig farmers, in a bid to ensure future supply.
電視報導警告稱，政府已經在考慮增加國家的豬肉儲備，併爲養豬農民提供補貼，以確保未來的豬肉供應。
That's a sobering message and interesting timing as it came on the eve of data that showed further declines in China's consumer-price and producer-price indices.
這篇報導傳遞了一個嚴肅的信息，時間也趕的很巧，因爲報導是在中國物價數據公佈前一天播出的。隨後公佈的中國消費者價格指數(CPI)和生產者價格指數(PPI)出現了進一步下滑。
Pork has always been much more than a basic ingredient of Kung Pao dishes in China. Food constitutes nearly 33% of China's CPI, and pork's weight in the food category is estimated to be at least 10%. In April, food prices dropped 1.3% from a year earlier.
豬肉對中國的意義遠遠不只是中國宮爆菜餚中的一道基本原料。食品佔據了中國CPI將近33%的比重，而豬肉在食品類別中的權重估計至少在10%。今年4月份，中國食品價格較上年同期下降了1.3%。
But those data aside, it appears that Beijing is starting to become worried about a potential spike in pork prices down the track, and with good reason.
但拋開這些數據，看起來北京正開始擔心接下去豬肉價格可能會上漲，這種擔心是有充分理由的。
Rising pork prices due to expensive raw material costs were a major factor driving inflation to around 7% only two years ago, forcing Beijing to hike interest rates six times and take a series of other measures to try and bring pork prices down.
就在兩年前，原材料成本高昂造成豬肉價格不斷上漲，在很大程度上導致了中國通貨膨脹率升至7%左右的高位；從而迫使中國政府六次上調利率，並採取一系列其他措施努力推動豬肉價格回落。
If the authorities don't prevent another supply crisis, a repeat of 2007 could well take place in the coming months, with potentially disastrous consequences.
如果中國政府不能阻止又一次豬肉供應危機，2007年的情況可能會在未來幾個月重演，有可能會造成災難性的影響。
With the global economy in recession and China struggling to keep growth over the magic 8% mark, via a huge stimulus plan, the last thing it wants to see is stagflation.
目前全球經濟正處於衰退當中，中國正通過一個規模龐大的刺激計劃努力維持8%的經濟增長率。在這個節骨眼上，中國最不願意見到的就是滯脹。
