Chinese authorities on Thursday released 10,000 tonnes of pork from its central reserves to increase pork supply in the market and ensure meat supply for the upcoming National Day holiday.

A total of 2,400 tonnes of reserve beef and 1,900 tonnes of reserve mutton have been released into the market at the beginning of September, the Ministry of Commerce said in an online statement.

China is capable of guaranteeing its meat supply with a sharp increase in meat imports and a relatively high level of frozen meat inventory, the ministry said.

It also said China’s pork prices posted slower growth recently. The average wholesale pork prices on Sept. 18 rose by 1.3 percent from that on Sept. 10, with the daily growth rate of 0.8 percentage points lower than that registered in late August.

China will continue to pay close attention to the demand and supply in the pork market and changes of pork prices, enhance connections between pork production and sales and strengthen forecasts and alerts related to the pork market, the MOC said.

The ministry and other government agencies will continue to release pork from central reserves as appropriate to guarantee supply of pork in the market.

China and the United States held vice ministerial-level trade talks in Washington on Thursday and Friday, and conducted constructive discussions on economic and trade issues of mutual concern.

The two sides also carefully discussed the specific arrangement for the 13th round of China-US high-level economic and trade consultations scheduled for October in Washington. The two sides agreed to continue to maintain communication on related issues.