Reducing pork consumption in China is holding back prices, even though pork production in the country, the world's largest meat producer, is declining, Luo Xiufang, head of the largest Chinese pig producer Wens Foodstuff Group, said this today.

The drop in consumption is due to the epidemic of African swine fever that devastated the pig population in China, which is the largest in the world, curbing demand for the country's favorite meat.

According to the Ministry of Agriculture of China, in April the number of sows decreased by 22.3 percent compared with the same month a year earlier.

Pork prices in the country are also controlled, this was facilitated by the sale of stocks of frozen pork and the slowdown of slaughterhouses, caused by the transition to new testing rules for African swine fever. Nevertheless, the industry expects prices to rise in the second half of the year, while production is still falling.

Chinese Vice Premier Hu Chunhua said late on Thursday May 16th that pig farmers should be encouraged to replenish pig livestock on farms, as concerns about the impact of rising pork prices on the economy and social stability are growing.

And Chen Guanghua, a spokesman for the country's Ministry of Agriculture, said the government needed to take further measures to support the restoration of pig production.