Chinese vendors sell pork in a market in Kunming, capital of Southwest China's Yunnan Province in June. Photo: IC

Consumer prices in China, including the price of pork, are expected to remain stable under government policy support, a Chinese official said on Wednesday.

The average daily increase of pork prices in 36 cities in China stood 0.28 percent from September 11 to 17, lower than the figure in August, Meng Wei, spokesperson of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) said.

Pork prices dropped 0.22 percent on average on the second day of the Mid-Autumn Festival. Out of the 36 monitored cities, 10 cities witnessed slight increases, while 13 cities saw prices drop and 13 remained stable, Meng said.

Due to the outbreak of African swine fever (ASF), live pig supplies have been affected, leading to a surge in pork prices recently. The rise in pork prices has contributed significantly to the CPI growth from January to August. According to the NDRC on Wednesday, China's CPI grew 2.4 percent from January to August year-on-year, up by 2.8 percent in August. Core CPI, excluding food and energy, increased only 1.7 percent in the first eight months, however, up by 1.5 percent in August.

Government policies have been rolling out to secure the supply of live pigs and to stabilize pork prices. China will release a total of 10,000 tons of pork from government reserves to contain the soaring pork prices, China Merchandise Reserve Management Center, a reserve management company under the central government, said on Monday.

On September 3, the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs jointly released measures to encourage pork production, including offering subsidies to farmers affected by ASF.