UPDATE 1-Sharp sees LCD panels in short supply thru mid 2010

SAKAI, Japan, Oct 16 - The current industry shortage of LCD panels could continue through the middle of next year, the head of a unit at consumer electronics maker Sharp said on Friday.

"Supplies have yet to catch up with demand at the moment and I expect things to remain that way until around the middle of next year," Hiroshi Saji, the president of Sharp Display Products Corp, told reporters.

He was speaking after a ceremony marking the first panel shipment from Sharp's new LCD plant.

Sharp, the world's fourth-largest LCD TV maker behind Samsung Electronics Co Ltd, Sony Corp and LG Electronics Inc, earlier this month started production at its cutting-edge LCD panel factory in Sakai, western Japan.

The plant is capable of processing so-called 10th-generation glass substrates, which are bigger than earlier-generation substrates and help cut per-panel production costs.

Following Saji's comments, shares in Sharp closed up 0.2 percent at 1,036 yen, in line with the broader market.