Customers shop for pork in a supermarket in Lianyungang, East China's Jiangsu Province. Photo: IC

China is taking more measures like waiving highway toll fees for pork transportation to stabilize prices and secure supply as African swine fever (ASF) continues to affect the world's largest pork producer and consumer.

The Ministry of Transport on Monday waived highway toll fees for trucks carrying pigs or frozen pork to support the industry. The exemption starts this month and will last until June, the notice read.

The latest measure came after announcements of boosting imports and releasing frozen meat from state reserves last week. The series of moves are expected to alleviate price surges caused by ASF, as supply is secured and production willingness is restored.

The Ministry of Commerce said on Thursday it would seek to boost pork imports and release frozen pork, beef and mutton from state reserves in "due course" to increase the supply of meat in the market.

Jiao Shanwei, a veteran analyst in the agricultural field, told the Global Times on Monday that the release of frozen meat is being made in order to meet rising demand during the upcoming holidays.

The exemption of toll fees will prompt supplementary production for the Spring Festival holiday, Jiao said, adding that surging pork prices have attracted more farm households to resume pork production. The producing cycle is no more than three months.

However, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs on Monday said that the country has not developed a vaccine to prevent ASF. The control of ASF has entered a critical period, and producing, selling and using ineffective vaccines will lead to severe penalties, the ministry said.


Newspaper headline: Nation enhances support for pork production, waives toll fees for pig transportation