China to release more pork from central reserves

China is ready to release more pork from its central reserves around the Chinese Lunar New Year holiday to ensure stable pork supplies, the country's top economic planner said on Tuesday.

It will release 30,000 tonnes of pork each day on Feb. 4 and Feb. 9, said the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC).

A total of 180,000 tonnes of pork have been released in seven rounds since Dec. 17, 2020, said the commission.

Driven by a booming pork demand, China's stable meat prices started to grow from December last year, said an NDRC official.

However, with the release of frozen pork from central and local reserves, the price edged down in January this year, the official said.

By the end of 2020, China saw its live-pig inventory reach 406.5 million, recovering to 92.1 percent of the 2017 level. The stock of breeding sows stood at 41.61 million, doubling from the level at the end of 2019, according to the NDRC.

The market may see growth in the number of hogs available for slaughter in the first half of 2021, said the NDRC. The pork price is expected to continue declining.