BEIJING, Nov. 24 -- China will stockpile pork, the country's staple meat, in its central reserves to facilitate a reasonable recovery of hog prices, China's top economic planner said on Friday.

It will be the third batch of pork this year to be purchased and stored in central reserves, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) said.

The move was announced in response to a recent trend of falling hog prices in China. The price of hog went down 0.7 percent in mid-November compared with early November, latest data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed on Friday.

Moreover, the national average pork price compared with grain prices, an index monitored by the NDRC concerning pork prices, has been within the second-highest warning level range of 5 to 1 to 6 to 1 for more than three consecutive weeks.

According to a work plan for stabilizing the pork market, China has introduced a three-level early-warning system to raise the alarm for excessive ups and downs in hog prices.

The NDRC said it will cooperate with relevant departments to start the stockpiling work for state reserves in accordance with the work plan.