China's pork prices rise amid cold weather

BEIJING - Increasingly lower temperatures in the past month has led to rising pork prices, according to Xinhua News Agency's price system on national farm produce.

Pork prices were up 5.2 percent on Saturday from November 20, the price system showed.

Northern and northeastern China reported the highest price hikes. Jilin, Liaoning and Heilongjiang provinces saw rises of more than 10 percent.

However, pork prices on Saturday were 8 percent lower than the same period last year.

Impending festivals, including the New Year and the Spring Festival, will see rising pork consumption, according to the system.

Pork is a staple meat in China.

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

The CPI grew 2 percent year on year in November, up from a 33-month low of 1.7 percent in October, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.