China will soon start a second round of pork purchasing to shore up prices which have been depressed by oversupply and weak demand since the beginning of the year, the Ministry of Commerce said on Thursday.

Pork wholesale prices dropped by 14 percent during the January-April period this year from a year ago. Financial losses were widespread in the industry.

In April several government departments and agencies, including the Ministry of Commerce and the National Development and Reform Committee, kicked off the first round of pork purchases.

The Ministry of Commerce said the second round will start soon, "maybe on a larger scale", it said.