Stocks: Pork related

Since we were talking about food a few days back, I was thinking about pork dishes. While I was thinking about it, the realization that pork consumption is probably much higher than any other form of meat (in China). So I did myself a little research, and apparently I hit the nail on the head. As we all know, a good amount of month back, pork prices sky rocketed, which caused many people to start rearing pigs to get in on the action. However with the current economic melt down, and swine flu problem, the supply of pork is probably much higher than the demand for pork. However with continuing education on swine flu by the government, I believe people will stop believing that consuming pork will give you the flu. That along with the recovery of the economy in China, could raise up the pork demand therefore causing a higher pork price. Oh the over supply of pork is also decreasing as in the past few month, pork...farmers? (don't know what they are called) were killing their pigs because it was cheaper to kill them than to let them live.

In the end, I suggest some of us who knows a thing or two about stocks to look into pork companies in China. I will give you guys a suggestion, ZhongPin(HOGS). They have been reporting a higher revenue and net income compared to Q2 of last year.

After you guys finish with the research, reply here and tell me what you think.

Off the top of my head, I only know that the Canadian government has recently stepped in due to the enormous stress the industry is under in Canada. Instead of the usual subsidies, the government is offering payouts to farmers who are willing to get out of the pork business altogether. This way the government hopes to sustain higher prices in the future without a continuous drain on the treasury. Not all farmers are willing to take the offer however, many have invested too much already to let it all go. Nevertheless, this policy could curtail pork supplies in Canada in the future which may affect global prices as Canada is the 5th largest producer in the world (I think).