A spokesman with the ministry said that during May the mainland had supplied Hong Kong with an average of 4,268 pigs per day and the supply could "generally" meet demand. He did not say how many pigs were supplied to Hong Kong in April.

"Rising feed and pork prices have increased the cost of pork supply," said the spokesman.

He said the ministry would encourage neighboring Guangdong province to provide more pigs, intensify supervision and management of pork supply and work with the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine to maintain the quality of registered pig farms.

The Ministry of Communications has issued an urgent notice calling transportation departments to give priority to the delivery of pork and live pigs.

The authorities will launch an emergency plan if necessary and the toll for vehicles carrying pork or live pigs will be reduced, said the notice.

According to the Ministry of Agriculture, in April live pigs nationwide were priced 71.3 percent higher than a month earlier, and pork 29.3 percent higher.

Source: XINHUA Online