Chinese vendors sell pork and other meat products at their stalls in a free market in Kunming, Southwest China's Yunnan province, June 29, 2019. (File photo: IC)

The wholesale price for pork in China has dipped to 43.66 yuan ($6.2) per kg over the last week, continuing to shrink for three weeks in a row, official data showed on Tuesday.

Compared to the price from the first week of November, the latest figure fell by 16.5 percent, statistics of Chinese Commerce Ministry that track price changes of produce showed.

Chinese consumers witnessed a skyrocketing rise of pork prices over the past few months, mainly affected by the epidemic of African swine fever found in many parts of the country.

Since September, the Chinese government has rolled out measures to cool markets, including subsidies to encourage pig farming, releasing national pork reserves, a fast track for pork transportation and expanding imports. 

The customs data showed an increasing Chinese appetite for foreign hogs. In the first three quarters of this year, China has purchased 1.33 million tons of pork from overseas, up 40 percent compared to same period last year.

Yang Zhenhai, director of the Husbandry and Veterinary Bureau of China’s Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, told Beijing-based Economic Information Daily that the high-flying pork prices are unlikely to last for long since China’s pig industry is gradually recovering. 

At a press briefing held last Friday, Yang predicted China’s pig numbers are expected to bounce back to 80 percent of the normal years before the outbreak.

(Compiled by Chen Lidan)