(Xinhua)
Updated: 2007-08-23 16:39

BEIJING -- The average wholesale price of pork from August 13 to 19 saw a week-on-week drop of 1.4 percent, according to the Ministry of Commerce.

It was the second consecutive drop in pork prices, which have almost doubled in the last seven months due to short supply and mounting production costs.

From August 6 to 12, pork prices fell 1.5 percent from the previous week after efforts taken by the government and producers to increase supply began to take effect, said the ministry.

However, as prices of suckling pigs and pig feed are expected to stay high over the Mid-autumn Festival and National Day holidays through to October, pork demand will remain strong and pork prices are likely to remain high, predicted the ministry.

Due to harvesting and transporting difficulties caused by heavy rains, from August 13 to 19, caraway prices rose 46 percent week-on-week, while rape was up 21.6 percent and cucumbers up 18.8 percent.

Last week, of the 40 major edible farm products monitored by the ministry, the prices of 31 items rose while eight items recorded price drops and one item price stayed flat.

In July, China's consumer price index, or CPI, rose by 5.6 percent on the back of food price hikes. The key inflation indicator was well above the government-set target of 3 percent.