Sichuan Beijing, May 16: China has released rice, wheat and edible oil reserves to quake-hit Sichuan province to ensure sufficient supplies reach survivors and to help cap food price rises, state media said on Friday. The China Grain Reserves Corp will release 100,000 tonnes of rice, 50,000 tonnes of wheat and 14,000 tonnes of cooking oil to areas close to the epicenter after Monday's 7.9 magnitude quake, which may have killed up to 50,000 people and left tens of thousands homeless, Xinhua said.

The State Grain Administration also urged local authorities to make sure survivors had adequate food. The government has air-dropped 15 tonnes of rice and 10 tonnes of flour to areas close to epicenter, Xinhua said, but some relief workers on the ground have said more is needed.

China has imposed temporary price controls in quake-hit provinces, aiming to prevent hoarding and speculation after some local prices of food and transport spiked higher immediately after the quake.

Food prices have already helped drive the country's inflation to a nearly 12-year high. As a result, Beijing has made control of food price a priority for fear of social unrest.

COFCO Ltd, the country's largest grain trader, has donated edible oils as well as chocolate, to provide quick energy boosts for rescuers, to Sichuan, and the Jilin Grain Group in northeast Jilin province has donated 100 tonnes of rice.