July 6, 2011

Pork prices rose 3.4% on-week in the week ended July 3, after an increase of 4.5% the previous week, according to the Ministry of Commerce (MOC) on Tuesday (Jul 5).

Since early May pork prices have continued to rise in China mainly due to a domestic shortage of hogs and higher hog feed costs caused by rising grain prices.

Pork prices soared 40.4% on-year and helped drive inflation to a 34-month high in May.

Pork is the most widely consumed and affordable meat in China, and its price weighs heavily on the consumer price index (CPI).

The MOC data also showed that during the week ended July 3, the price of chicken rose 0.5% while that of mutton gained 0.4%. However, beef prices dipped 0.2%.

The price of fish, rice, flour and cooking oil rose as well.

The average wholesale prices of 18 staple vegetables were almost flat, while the wholesale prices of specific vegetables were mixed.

The wholesale price of cabbages surged 14.3% while that of garlic, potato and onion dropped 16.4% and 7.8%, respectively.

Food prices have a key weight in the calculation of CPI, a major gauge of inflation.