Effective measures must be in place to ensure the supply and price of pork are stable during the Spring Festival holidays, said Vice-Premier Hu Chunhua, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, during an inspection of local markets in Nanning, South China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, on Jan 17.

A sufficient supply of pork during this traditional Chinese holiday is necessary to meet consumption needs, he said.

Hu urged fully implementing the accountability system for government officials responsible for stabilizing pork supply and price, highlighting the need to avoid price spikes.

Meat suppliers like slaughterhouses and wholesalers should be guided to release more pork, beef, mutton and poultry to the market to diversify supply channels, he added.

Targeted actions should also be taken, he said, when key regions experience market supply shortages by taking a proper amount of frozen pork from reserves.

Hu called for government departments to strengthen the monitoring of market dynamics and promptly detect and respond to abnormal price fluctuations.

To maintain an orderly market, he said, supervision should be stronger, with a tough attitude toward illegal behavior like jacking up prices.

For people in need, Hu urged timely payment of temporary price-pegged subsidies to satisfy their basic needs.

Resuming pig production remains a crucial task, he said, and departments must adopt support policies to increase pork supply from the source.

Hu added prevention and control efforts against African swine fever should be reinforced.