China's food prices rise at slower pace

Farm produce prices rose at a slower pace in 36 large and medium-sized cities in China last week, the Ministry of Commerce said on Monday. In the week ending Dec. 30, the wholesale price of 18 types of vegetables gained 2.9 percent week on week, down from the 6.9 percent growth in the previous week, according to a ministry statement. The prices of white turnips and cabbages jumped 9.3 percent and 8.6 percent, respectively, the statement said. The wholesale price of pork went up 0.9 percent week on week, but dropped 6.8 percent from the same period last year. The wholesale price of eight kinds of aquatic products monitored by the ministry moved up 0.5 percent from a week earlier, while the retail price of eggs rose 0.4 percent, according to the statement. Food prices account for almost one-third of the weighting in the country's calculation of the consumer price index (CPI), a key gauge of inflation. Because of higher food prices, China's CPI grew 2 percent year on year in November, up from a 33-month low of 1.7 percent in October, data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed.