BEIJING - China cracked 38,000 illegal price-fixing cases and retrieved 310 million yuan ($46.64 million) for customers in the first 11 months of the year, China's top economic planning body said Thursday.

The National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) said it also confiscated 830 million yuan and imposed 110 million yuan in fines.

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The ministry's price department will work to stabilize prices in 2011, especially prices of farm produce, medicine and education, the NDRC said.

It said it will further crack down on illegal price-fixing activities to maintain market order.

To ensure stable farm produce prices, the ministry will closely monitor the prices of grain, oil, cotton and vegetables, it added.

Chinese authorities earlier this year exposed a series of illegal, anti-competitive activities in the farm products market, including the hoarding of mung beans and garlic.