BEIJING — Prices of China's farm produce in major cities have all posted rises in the week that ended October 31 from the previous week, government figures showed Wednesday.
( j1 v- v* z! ]4 F The rise in food prices, which have a one-third weighting in the calculation of China's consumer price index (CPI), has added to inflation concerns as the index rose to a 23-month high of 3.6 percent in September.6 b9 M | H$ A$ x9 Z
In the week of October 25 to October 31, prices of 18 types of vegetables rose 1.9 percent, a report released Wednesday by the Ministry of Commerce said.* V6 V$ V& g* Q
Prices for eggs and meat (pork) rose by 0.2 percent and 0.7 percent, respectively, while the price for edible oil (soybean oil) gained 0.3 percent.2 E9 Y% N1 I$ _- ]8 q2 Q" O
Meanwhile, prices of rice and flour rose 0.2 and 0.4 percent, respectively. Seafood prices edged up 0.1 percent.9 X2 q: N. C% T
Surging food prices pushed China's CPI to the highest point in nearly two years in September, and the inflation rate was above the government's target ceiling of 3 percent for 2010.
0 {1 ^" C9 C2 H7 p) X In September, food prices climbed 8 percent year on year, picking up strength after rising 7.5 percent in August, 6.8 percent in July and 5.7 percent in June. |