China’s overseas purchases and imports of pork and pork products in calendar year 2008 were unprecedented for any single country in history, according to U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF) calculations from just-released Chinese trade data. Based on import totals from China and Hong Kong, the country imported 1.925 million metric tons (4.2 billion pounds) of pork and pork products last year, including 1.161 million tons (nearly 2.6 billion pounds) of pork variety meats and 764,000 tons (1.7 billion pounds) of pork cuts. Available trade data suggests that China’s imports eclipsed the previous single-year record of 1.022 million tons (2.2 billion pounds) of pork imported by Japan in 2005. Results of a new Chinese survey announced yesterday estimate that 15 percent of migrant rural workers – approximately 20 million people – have lost their jobs due to the economic crisis. A number of subsidy increases have been announced for the rural sector in addition to those for the hog-raising sector, including farm machinery and appliance purchasing subsidies, and a 16 percent rise in the minimum purchase price for grain.