Li cites need for stabilized pork supplies

People should be ensured of meat's availability during the Spring Festival

Premier Li Keqiang called for all-out measures to ensure the supply of pork and stabilize its prices to meet public demand for the most commonly consumed meat in China.

Local authorities must carry out their responsibilities and make careful arrangements to ensure that people can put pork on their tables during celebrations for the upcoming New Year and Spring Festival, Li said during an inspection trip to Jiangxi province on Thursday and Friday.

The premier visited a wholesale market for agricultural produce in Nanchang, the provincial capital, and learned about the fluctuations of pork prices.

He urged authorities to lower fees collected at toll roads for trucks transporting frozen pork, which will help reduce pork prices.

With African swine fever ravaging its hog herds, China's pork prices more than doubled year-on-year in October and drove up the consumer price index by 3.8 percent year-on-year last month.

Li visited villagers in Jingdezhen and learned about their incomes and how soaring pork prices affected their diet.

He voiced support to large-scale hog production as well as pig farming by rural households, saying that unjustified bans on pig farms must be lifted.

He stressed the need to boost the income of farmers through multiple channels, as most farmers are still not well-off enough despite the fact that their average incomes have been on the rise over the years.

Since July, Jiangxi has been hit by the most severe drought in recorded history, with several other provinces in South China also among the affected areas.

Li urged continuous drought relief measures to minimize losses, with measures to ensure the water supply for the general public.

He highlighted the importance of refining the policies that support agricultural production to stabilize grain production and ensure the legitimate interests of farmers, saying that the country must have full control over its own food supply.

The premier visited a porcelain industrial park in Jingdezhen, a city best known for its high-quality porcelain products.

He encouraged workers in the park to inherit the professionalism and craftsmanship from China's traditional culture, develop a high-end porcelain sector and improve the competitiveness of the country's porcelain sector.

As he visited Hongdu Aviation Industry Group, an aircraft manufacturer and a major supplier to the domestically developed C919 jetliner, Li highlighted the necessity to train more technical workers to move China's manufacturing sector to the medium-and high-end of the global value chain.

He urged staff at the company to ensure that their aircraft are absolutely safe, cozy and competitive in the market.