China's farm produce prices continue to climb

BEIJING - Prices of farm produce in China continued to climb in the week ending Jan 6, with a rise in the cost of 30 types of vegetables, data from the Ministry of Commerce showed Wednesday.

The price index for farm produce went up 0.2 percent in the past week, following a 0.3 percent gain the previous week, while the index for production materials edged down 1.1 percent.

The average wholesale price of 30 types of vegetables went up 1.7 percent, compared with a 0.7 percent rise a week earlier.

The wholesale price of rice rose 0.2 percent from the previous week. The price of beef went up 0.4 percent and lamb 0.6 percent.

Food accounts for about one-third of China's consumer price index.

China's consumer price index, a main gauge of inflation, rose 2.2 percent year-on-year in November, down from 2.5 percent in October, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.