People buy pork in an open fair in Qionghai, South China's Hainan Province on November 9. Photo: VCG

The agricultural departments of China's main pig raising provinces and cities "should speed up the recovery of pork production as much as possible, and consider it a political task," China's agricultural ministry said.

Amid the year-long African swine fever (ASF) spread in China, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs (MOA) held a meeting on Saturday which focused on the promotion of hog production in Nanchang, East China's Jiangxi Province, according to its official website.

During the meeting headed by Han Changfu, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, officials from China's nine main pig-raising provinces and cities, including East China's Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Southwest China's Sichuan, reported the current production situations of their pig farms amid soaring pork prices due to ASF.

"These nine provinces and cities in southern China are traditionally the main pork-producing areas, as their production accounts for nearly half of all pork produced in China. Recovering their production is significant to maintaining a stable pork supply and price in China," read a notice on the MOA website.

According to a People's Daily report, ASF has spread to most provinces in China since the ministry reported its first case last August, resulting in a total loss of more than 100 billion yuan ($14 billion).

Provincial agricultural departments should be wholly responsible for implementing policies and measures to support recovery of pork production, including fiscal and financial support. Prevention and control measures regarding ASF should be strengthened further, according to the MOA website.