China to stockpile pork to end surplus; shore up prices

China's Ministry of Commerce will start stockpiling pork to soak up surplus supplies if prices continue to stay weak, the official Xinhua News Agency reported Tuesday (May 19).

"If the price ratio between pork and grains remains below 6 to 5.5 for four consecutive weeks, the Ministry of Commerce will start stockpiling pork," the report said, citing Yao Jian, the ministry's spokesman.

Increasing hog supplies and weak consumption has forced pork prices to decline recently, with average rates in large- and medium-sized cities being RMB14,490/tonne, down 22.2 percent compared with those at the start of the year, and 33.6 percent below last year's Xinhua said.

"There are two ways to stockpile pork from the market - one is through government buying, the other is through commercial buying - both are aimed at stabilizing prices," said Yao.

Beijing is also expediting setting up a central cold storage to stockpile the meat, as part of its effort to balance demand and supply and stabilize prices, the report said, citing Yao.