Ministry: Pork reserves to be released

BEIJING - China will release pork reserves onto the market at the "appropriate time" to help stabilize prices as the country struggles to contain inflation that is rising at the fastest pace in three years.

The government has 200,000 tons of pork in reserve and may increase its stocks, said a Ministry of Commerce spokesman Yao Jian at a regular briefing in Beijing on Friday. Some provinces, including Liaoning, have already released reserves, he said. Yao did not elaborate on when sales may take place.

Prices of pork, the most consumed meat in the world's most populous nation, rose 57 percent in China last month and accounted for more than one-fifth of the overall inflation rate. High prices have prompted Premier Wen Jiabao to call for more support for pig production to make pork prices "more reasonable" three times in the past two weeks.