The short supply of China's live pig will not change "fundamentally" until the second quarter next year, Bi Jingquan, vice minister of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) said on Tuesday.

"Although price hike of pork and piglets and related governmental policy incentives have encouraged farmer to raise more pigs, pig raising still takes a period of time," Bi told a press conference. "Since the number of piglets depends on the number of sows in stock, it could take about one year and a half for piglets to grow up to sows, which in turn bear more piglets for sale," he said.

The official said a short-term turbulence in pork market is "inevitable", adding the demand for pork could rise as weather becomes cooler and the mid-autumn festival and the National Day draw near.

"But in the long run, the pork price is unlikely to increase by a large margin," said the official.

"Despite a decrease in the number of live pigs for sale, the output of beef, mutton, poultry and eggs have been on the rise since this year," Bi said, citing the production of milk had been increasing 24 percent annually in recent years.

"That is to say, the supply of non-staple food as a whole is sufficient, which will also curb the price hike of pork to some extent," he said.

(Xinhua News Agency September 4, 2007)