For many Chinese people, nothing completes a festive dinner quite like a juicy cut of pork. But as the country gears up to celebrate the weeklong National Day holiday — and with it the 70th anniversary of the People’s Republic — pigging out is becoming costly.

That’s because China’s swine herd continues to be decimated by a deadly pig disease. Since it was first reported in China last summer, African swine fever has killed around one-third of the country’s hogs and caused an estimated $140 billion of direct losses.

The crisis has prompted renewed interest in China’s vast strategic reserves of pork meat and hogs, after authorities released thousands of tons of pork onto the market to guarantee supply ahead of the holiday.

That’s right: The Chinese government considers pork so important to social and economic stability that it maintains a special supply of it. But where does this system come from, and why does it exist? And can it really help alleviate the pressure of the swine fever crisis?

Read our explainer on the subject later today on Caixin Global to find out.

Contact reporters Flynn Murphy (flynnmurphy@caixin.com) and Matthew Walsh (matthewwalsh@caixin.com)

Related: Deadly Pig Disease Has Cost China More Than $140 Billion: Professor