Economy

China to see faster declines in vegetable prices

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2011-04-19 21:16

BEIJING - China is expected to see faster declines in vegetable prices with rising temperatures and increasing vegetable supplies, said Yao Jian, a spokesman for the Ministry of Commerce, on Tuesday.

Prices of vegetables and eggs began dropping in mid-February this year while pork and cooking oil posted price decreases at the beginning of April following government measures to stabilize prices and seasonal factors, Yao said at a news conference.

Data from the ministry showed that wholesale prices of 18 staple vegetables in 36 large- and medium-sized cities fell 9.8 percent in the week ending April 17 from the previous week. The decline rate was 5.2 percentage points higher than that of the previous week.

China's consumer price index (CPI), a major gauge of inflation, jumped by a 32-month high of 5.4 percent from the previous year in March. Food prices, which account for a third of the basket of goods in China's CPI calculation, surged 11 percent year-on-year in March.