The monthly average daily supply of live pigs from the Chinese mainland to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region has sharply decreased since June, and prices in July doubled from the previous two months, official data showed.

A total of 3,575 live pigs were supplied by the Chinese mainland in May, with an average auction price of HK$1,618 ($206) per 100 catties (50 kilograms). The number decreased to 1,706 in July and prices soared to HK$3,294, according to data from the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD) of Hong Kong.

Many butcher shops have been closed since May due to the outbreak of African swine fever (ASF), domestic news site guancha.cn reported on Monday, citing Hui Wai-kin, an official with the pork industry association in Hong Kong.

Hui said the current pork market in Hong Kong is in a "critical condition" and urged the SAR government to strengthen communication with the mainland to ensure that there are enough live pigs for Hong Kong, the report said.

There were zero live pigs imported to Hong Kong from the mainland from Wednesday to Friday, according to the FEHD.

Hui earlier told local media that nearly 95 percent of the pork in Hong Kong was supplied by the mainland.

The pork supply tension is also continuing in the Chinese mainland due to the ASF.

According to China's Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, the pork stock in July dropped by 32.2 percent year-on-year, and decreased 9.4 percent month-on-month.

Supplies may fall 10 to 15 percent short of demand in the second half of this year, a peak demand season, and prices may hit 23 yuan ($3.26) per kilogram, Wang Zuli, a research fellow with the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, told the Global Times in a recent interview.

Global Times