Cabinet demands supervision of market prices

The State Council, China’s cabinet, Thursday called for strengthening the supervision of market prices and keeping prices stable to ensure that people’s basic living needs are met.

The government will ensure the overall price level to remain in a reasonable range this year, the State Council was quoted as saying after a regular meeting. It will accelerate the recovery of pork production capacity, boost imports and tap state reserves, the cabinet said.

Chinese authorities announced Thursday plans to release more pork from its central reserves to ensure market supply for the upcoming National Day Holiday.

Gao Feng, spokesperson for the Ministry of Commerce, said that 10,000 tons of pork will be released from reserves to brace for a spike in demand during the seven-day holiday.

Meat supply is now generally sufficient and price is going stable, said Gao.

The move came after another 10,000 tons of pork was released from the central reserve last Thursday, putting the total amount of pork released since the beginning of this month at 20,000 tons.

A total of 2,400 tons of reserve beef and 1,900 tons of reserve mutton have also been released into the market over the same period.

Gao said the MOC will continue to monitor price curves and supply-demand dynamics of the pork market and prepare for future releases to shore up meat supply.