On the menu of countless dishes, pork, which is the most consumed meat in China, saw its price jump last month by more than 30% year on year, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs.
The NDRC attributes the surge to an "irrational reluctance to sell" on the part of some producers, who prefer to wait in order to maximize their gains, in the context of inflationary pressure in food at the global level.
To stabilize prices and avoid popular discontent, the economic planner on Tuesday ordered producers to slaughter hogs "at a steady pace" and warned against any "manipulation" of supply and demand.
The use of national pork reserves is also "under study" to put more meat on the market and thus lower prices, added the planner.
Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, China has been relatively spared from the global food price spike.
But authorities have been keeping a close eye on pork prices since an outbreak of swine fever decimated the Chinese herd in 2019.
Then faced with soaring prices, the power had drawn on its strategic reserves to ward off any discontent as the celebrations marking the 70th anniversary of communist China approached.
© 2022 AFP