BEIJING — China's populations of live pigs and breeding sows have largely recovered amid the government efforts to restore hog production, data from the country's agriculture authority showed on Oct 10.

So far, the numbers of live pigs and breeding sows in stock have recovered to over 80 percent of the level seen in normal years, according to data from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs.

Since last year, China has implemented a string of policies to stimulate hog production and stabilize pork prices affected by African swine fever and other factors.

To ensure that production capacity will return to the level of regular years, the country will strive to maintain the current recovering momentum and further expand hog production, said Han Changfu, minister of agriculture and rural affairs, at a video conference on restoring hog production.

The ministry also called for measures to boost the market supply of the staple meat, including increasing frozen pork reserves and meat alternatives.