April 26, 2012

China's farm produce prices down for week ending April 22

For the week ending April 22 from the previous week, China's farm produce prices dropped, according to a report released Tuesday (Apr 24) by the Ministry of Commerce (MOC).

The retail price of eggs dropped 0.6% last week to below CNY9 (US$1.43) per kilogramme as market supplies increased, the report said.

Meat prices also saw declines, with the price of pork down 0.2% from the previous week and down 13.9% compared to the end of January. Prices of mutton and beef were down 0.2% and 0.1%, respectively, from the previous week. The price of chicken remained unchanged.

The price of flour remained unchanged from the previous week, while that of rice rose 0.2%, according to the report.

Eight kinds of sea products also saw an average price gain of 0.1%, according to the report.

The consumer price index (CPI), a main gauge of inflation, rebounded to 3.6% on year in March, up from 3.2% registered in February, which was the lowest pace in 20 months.

Despite the rebound, analysts said the overall downward trend of inflation will not be changed for the whole year. The government has aimed to contain CPI growth to around 4% for the whole year.