The pork price hike has driven up prices of other foods, such as mutton, fish and eggs, in South China's Guandong Province, according to statistics from the province's pricing monitoring authority.

Pork prices in Guangdong stayed high in June as a result of strained supply and high prices of live pigs, although pork sales dropped slightly due to hot weather, said the Guangdong Price Monitoring Center.

Yesterday, prices of brisket and lean meat at major markets in Guanghzou including Carrefour were as high as 24-30 yuan (US$3.17-3.96) and 30-34 yuan per kilogram, with month-on-month increases of 11.59 percent and 10.71 percent and year-on-year rises of 32.56 percent and 35.12 percent respectively.

Prices of frozen pork edged up 1,000 yuan per ton yesterday, with that of frozen lean meat climbing over 10 percent, up nearly 2,000 yuan.

Boosted by pork price hike, prices of boneless fresh mutton climbed 9.21 percent in June from May and 23.96 percent from last June. Chicken and eggs stood at 23.26 and 8.82 yuan per kilogram respectively, both up about six percent from May. Fish was also sold at a slightly higher price at the end of June.

Frozen pork is in high demand because of surging demand for pork. Daily sales at major frozen pork wholesale markets in Guangzhou have increased by about 400 tons since May. The figure for the Huifeng Frozen Food Wholesale Market, the largest in Guangzhou, has risen by more than 300 tons since May.

Due to huge market demand, baby pigs and feed have become more expensive. Baby pigs sold for 26 yuan per kilogram in June, surging 29.48 percent from May. Average prices of soybean residue and wheel bran, two major feeds for pigs, were up 5.90 and 2.82 percent respectively month on month.

Increases in China's consumer price index in June may have exceeded four percent due to higher pork prices, making it the strongest inflation since October 2004, analysts said.