BEIJING - China's National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), the country's price watchdog, on Sept 7 ordered local governments to strengthen supervision against illegal pricing activities during the upcoming holidays.

Local price authorities should increase their efforts to check sellers' pricing activities to ensure stable food prices, especially for moon cakes, important food items and specialty foods, during the Mid-Autumn Festival and the National Day holiday, the NDRC said in an online statement.

The Mid-Autumn Festival holiday lasts from September 10 to 12 this year, and the week-long National Day holiday begins on Oct 1.

Special efforts should be made to stabilize the price of sugar, which has increased rapidly over recent months, the statement said.

Local authorities should strengthen price supervision over big sugar firms, sugar distribution enterprises and bidding companies for state sugar reserves, and clamp down on price collusion and hoarding, it noted.

Price checks should also be conducted in the country's transport sector, including air and railway travel, as well as on the tourism market during the holidays, it said.