BEIJING - China's prices for farm produce and producer goods fell week-on-week, the Ministry of Commerce (MOC) said Wednesday.2 }# u# v. O' G# b' S
During the week that ended November 28, vegetable prices continued to drop as most regions have been working hard to ensure winter vegetable supplies, said a statement on the MOC's website.
: m5 m2 | [! Y7 t$ F Wholesale prices of 18 staple vegetables went down 5.9 percent from the previous week. The decrease was 3.3 percentage points more than in the previous week.9 N/ B* G# a9 e6 p% n. L. M2 B+ V
Further, the prices of eight seafood products went down 0.1 percent week-on-week.
' B& z7 ~1 e' S; X0 |/ d) ? Also, beef prices shrank 0.1 percent week-on-week. Pork prices went up 0.3 percent, but the growth rate was 1.9 percentage points lower than the previous week.
& ~) o, u( N; f) X: J( n Food prices account for about one-third of the weighing in China's consumer price index (CPI), a major gauge of inflation, and the falling farm produce prices are expected to ease some inflationary pressure for the government.
6 x3 z6 {1 a6 F' S China's CPI rose to a 25-month high of 4.4 percent year-on-year in October and the hike was largely contributed by a 10.1 percent surge in food prices. |