China's farm produce prices climb further

BEIJING - Farm produce prices have extended an upward trend in 36 large and medium-sized cities in China, the Ministry of Commerce said Tuesday.

In the week ending Dec 16, the wholesale price of 18 types of vegetables gained 4.9 percent week on week, with the prices of cabbage, green peppers and lettuce up 13.7 percent, 12 percent and 10.6 percent, respectively, according to the ministry's online statement.

The wholesale price of pork went up 1.6 percent week on week, but dropped 7.9 percent from the same period last year.

The retail price of eight kinds of aquatic products monitored by the ministry moved up 0.4 percent from a week earlier, while the price of eggs rose 0.4 percent, up for the fourth straight week with cumulative gains of 1.3 percent, according to the statement.

Food prices account for almost one-third of the weighting in the nation's calculation of the consumer price index (CPI), a key gauge of inflation.

China's CPI grew 2 percent year on year in November, up from a 33-month low of 1.7 percent in October, the National Bureau of Statistics announced on Sunday. Analysts believe the inflation rate was mainly driven up by rising food prices.