A staff member arranges frozen pork at a dispatch site of an on-line shopping service in Sanya, south China's Hainan Province, Aug. 13, 2022. Photo: Xinhua

China is moving to increase pork supplies in the retail market from September as demand has edged up ahead of major festivals, including the Mid-Autumn Festival and the Spring Festival, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) announced on Monday on its WeChat account. 

According to the statement, the NDRC plans to release the government’s pork reserves in batches from the start of September, as well as direct local governments to release more of their pork reserves to meet the market demand for pork.

The NDRC also said it would pay close attention to pork market dynamics and try to maintain normal market order.

The NDRC suggested hog farmers appropriately“configure production and operations” so as to keep pork output stable. Companies are also suggested to manage the release of pork stock to increase market supply.

Market data showed that China's pork price experienced sharp fluctuations in July, going through both corrections and a rebound. Entering August, however, pork prices have kept rising. 

On Monday, China's live pig price stood at around 23 yuan ($3.32) per kilogram, compared with about 22 yuan at the beginning of August. 

Market demand for pork generally grows ahead of major holidays.

Fu Linghui, a spokesperson of the National Bureau of Statistics, said recently that China's live pig production has returned to near normal levels, and there's no basis for pork prices to rise drastically.

Global Times