China's favorite source of protein has got the government squealing.
A serious pork shortage has sent prices rocketing to an all time high - up nearly 40 percent from a year ago.
And there's not a lot Beijing can do about it.
At the root of the problem - Chinese farmers holding pigs back from the slaughterhouse as they try to rebuild herds which were wiped out during widespread culling two years ago when prices were plummeting.
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Tough new environmental measures brought in by the government have also forced many small pig farmers to shut up shop.
Now, Beijing is doing everything it can to bring prices back down - even taking the rare step of offloading pork reserves stored by the state.
With twice as much pork eaten in China than beef and poultry confined, the sky high prices are affecting hundreds of millions of ordinary people.
And there's no sign of the pain letting up any time soon.
Analysts say it could be as late as 2018 by the time process finally come down.
