Farm Produce Prices Rise on Reduced Supplies

BEIJING, March 20 (Xinhua) -- Prices of major farm produce monitored by the government rose last week as snow falls interrupted supplies, the Ministry of Commerce said Tuesday.

The wholesale prices of 18 staple vegetables rose 3.2 percent from one week earlier, and the prices have increased 9.7 percent during the recent four weeks, the ministry said in a statement on its website.

Prices of Chinese cabbages, white turnips and peppers jumped by over 20 percent over the past month, according to the statement.

The wholesale prices of eight staple aquatic products gained 0.3 percent last week, with the price of grass carp up 2.1 percent.

Meanwhile, the price of pork, which was the main driver of the nation's inflation last year, fell for seventh consecutive weeks last week, down 1.3 percent. Egg prices dropped 0.1 percent during the period.

Food prices have a one-third weighting in the calculation of China's consumer price index (CPI), a major gauge of inflation. The country's CPI eased to 3.2 percent last month, down from 4.5 percent in January.

Of major production materials, prices of steel, rubber, non-ferrous metals, energy, light industry materials and building materials gained week-on-weak, while mineral product prices fell slightly.