Picatho's causeries

As Chinese New Year is around the corner and you can see that all eatable and uneatable new-year-goods, especially pork price, have been viciously spiraled. "Every year is like that lah!" said my wife after she has had bought a dried-duck with 30 percent of price increment over the prior year's pricing. I said to my wife that we should be supposed not to play ducks and drakes with money this Chinese New Year. Eating a kilo of big prawn during this festival for Rm80 is not a valued treat.

Since October, the price of pork had risen from Rm14/kg to Rm22/kg. Breeders claimed for price hike owing to diseases and high cost of pig feeds. Pork sellers and abattoirs claimed for high rental and operation costs. And they are refusing to reduce their profit margin irrespective of social market behavior. They are in other words, real pigs in the majority than good eggs.

As in many economies around the world, rising costs for consumable and food have damaged confidence and made consumers reluctant to spend, particularly on pork meat of which is having more harm than good for health.

Kudos to the government's imposition for the import of pork and pork-based products to relax the pork-price spiral. And at this time they, pork breeders and sellers are seemed to be individually chocked with big sausage in his mouth!