A five-year pig raising project involving US$1.36 billion in investment launched on Saturday in Hubei, making the central China province the country's largest pig raising base.

China National Cereals, Oils and Foodstuffs Corp.(COFCO), the country's largest oils and food importer and exporter and leading food manufacturer, started the project in Wuhan, the provincial capital.

In the next five years, COFCO will build a 500,000-reproducible sow breeding base, a 10 million live pig raising demonstration project and set up centers for pig breeding technology research and pig disease prevention, according to Yu Xubo, COFCO president.

The project was expected to bring in an additional income of two billion yuan (US$280 million) for local farmers, according to Tang Tao, Hubei vice governor.

Climbing food prices, particularly in pork and vegetable oil, caused a direct 4 percent rise in the country's consumer price index last year.

(Xinhua News Agency March 16, 2008)