Snow, rain pushes China’s farm produce prices up

16  January 2013

BEIJING – Rain and snow in China’s north have driven farm produce prices slightly up in 36 large and medium-sized cities, the Ministry of Commerce said Tuesday.

In the week ending Nov 4, the wholesale price of 18 types of vegetables climbed 0.7 percent from a week earlier, according to the ministry.

Prices of cucumbers, potatoes and tomatoes jumped 8 percent, 6.8 percent and 7 percent, respectively. Meanwhile, the price of eggs dropped 0.4 percent, down for the fourth consecutive week.

The retail price of grain and cooking oil edged up slightly, with prices of rice, colza oil and peanut oil up 0.2 percent, 0.2 percent and 0.1 percent, respectively.

The wholesale price of pork dropped 0.1 percent week-on-week, while prices of mutton and beef went up slightly by both rising 0.7 percent. The wholesale prices of eight kinds of aquatic products declined 0.2 percent from a week ago.

Food prices account for about 30 percent of the weighting in the nation’s calculation of the consumer price index (CPI), the key gauge of inflation.

The CPI rose 1.9 percent year-on-year in September, easing from 2 percent in August, according to the country’s statistics authority.