September 22, 2009
China's rise in farm product prices won't cause inflation
The recent price hikes in basic farm products like hogs and eggs won't cause inflation, Minister of Agriculture Sun Zhengcai said Monday (Sept 21).
The increase in the prices of hogs and eggs are within the "normal range" and part of a recovery from low price levels, Sun told a news conference.
The rising prices will have only a limited impact on the consumer price index, he added.
Sun said prices tend to reach a peak in the weeks before the two major holiday period of the Lunar New Year at the start of the year, and the National Day holiday period in October. They tend to trough in May, he added.
China's CPI, its key inflation gauge, has remained down for the year so far although food prices as a whole, which account for roughly a third of the CPI basket, have been recovering.
