(Yicai Global) Oct. 10 -- Chinese pig farmers, which have been recording sluggish sales since last year, are expected to return to the black in the fourth quarter, as the price of live hogs soared to a 17-month high after the National Day holiday.

The average price of a live pig was CNY26.57 (USD3.74) per kilogram yesterday, the highest since May last year and up 8.3 percent from before the week-long National Day holiday that begun on Oct. 1, according to data pig farming industry platform Zhuwang released today. The price rose 13.8 percent from a month earlier and 140.45 percent from a year earlier.

The jump in hog prices comes despite the National Development and Reform Commission released state pork reserves on Sept. 30 for the fourth time this year to a total of nearly 87,100 tons. The previous three released contained the raising pork prices.

“Residents traveling during the National Day holiday boosted pork consumption, and rising pork prices indicate a short supply of medium and big pigs,” a pig farming industry analyst told Yicai Global. “Hog prices are going upward in a new cycle. November and December are peak seasons, so stocking up before the New Year and Spring Festival will gradually affect pig prices.”

But the market has diverging opinions about how much pork prices will increase, the analyst said, adding that the falling piglet prices show the market’s concern about the pig cost in the future.

New Hope Liuhe sold nearly to 1.2 million pigs last month, up 23.8 percent from August and 24.7 percent from a year earlier, the Chinese agricultural giant announced yesterday. Its revenue was CNY3 billion (USD421.8 million) in September, an increase of 38 percent from the previous month and 152 percent from the same period a year ago.

Twenty-five pork stocks dropped 13 percent on average last month, despite pig prices remaining stable. Longda Foodstuff Group [SHE: 002726] was the only one that posted a growth, edging up 1.4 percent.

Editor: Futura Costaglione