China to increase meat supply to meet rising demand: MOC

BEIJING -- China will take measures to increase meat supply in the market to meet rising demand, Ministry of Commerce (MOC) spokesperson Gao Feng told a press conference Thursday.

From Aug 19 to 25, pork and beef saw respective increases of 8.8 percent and 1.4 percent in their wholesale prices from the previous week, while the wholesale price of mutton edged up 0.7 percent, data from the MOC showed.

The MOC, along with other authorities, will put the central government's reserves of frozen pork, beef and mutton into market so as to stabilize supply, said Gao.

It will also promote coordination between meat production and purchasing among different regions to ensure supply.

In addition, China will continue to encourage more pork imports following the principle of marketization, Gao said.