BEIJING -- China's leading hog producer Muyuan Foods expected surging profits in the first three quarters amid high demand for pork, a staple meat in the country.

The company's net profits attributable to shareholders in the first nine months are expected to reach 20.7 billion yuan (about $3.05 billion) to 21.2 billion yuan, more than 14 times that in the same period last year, the firm said in a statement filed with the Shenzhen Stock Exchange.

The surge in profits was due to a rise in both hog prices and the number of hogs sold, according to the statement.

The company sold 11.88 million pigs during the nine-month period, up 49.8 percent year-on-year.

The numbers are preliminary results and are still subject to auditing, the statement said.

Since last year, China has implemented a string of policies to stimulate hog production and stabilize pork prices affected by African swine fever and other factors.

Pork prices declined by 1 percent during the eight-day Golden Week holiday ending Oct 8 compared with a week earlier, data from the Ministry of Commerce showed.