CHINA'S corporate pork price rose 11.5 percent in July from a month ago, but it was an 85.8-percent increase on the same month last year, according to figures from the People's Bank of China yesterday.

The corporate goods price, previously known as the wholesale price, refers to prices paid by domestic companies.

In a related development, July saw frozen pork price rise 89.2 percent over the same period last year.

The soaring price, due largely to short supply and rising production costs, contributed significantly to China's 33-month-high Consumer Price Index, which rose 5.6 percent from July last year. The key inflation indicator was well above the government-set level of three percent.

The central government has taken measures to curb the soaring pork price.

Banks and rural co-operatives are urged to boost funding to farmers, according to a statement yesterday by the China Banking Regulatory Commission.

A branch of the China Development Bank in northern Hebei Province is discussing financial support for the New Hope Group, a major pig breeder in southwestern Sichuan Province, and Beijing Qianxihe Food Group, a key pork supplier in the capital, in a project to supply six million pigs annually for Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei.

In order to minimize breeders' risks, pig insurance has been set up to cover almost every natural risk for farmers, an official with the China Insurance Regulatory Commission said.

Chen Weisheng, deputy director of the Livestock Husbandry Department of the Ministry of Agriculture, said in an online interview yesterday, "The pig breeding industry is recovering."

Chen said pig populations at major farms rose 7.3 percent in July from July last year, up 2.1 percent on the previous month.

Sales of pig feed in June rose six percent from June last year, with feed for sows up 5.6 percent, and that for young pigs up 13.5 percent, Chen said.

He was supported by Xu Xihe, deputy director of the Market Operation Department of the Ministry of Commerce, who said pork prices would stabilize as more pork would come on to the market soon.

Retail pork prices, which generally trail those for live hogs because retailers have other factors to consider before adjusting their prices, will probably stabilize "after some time," Xu said.