Farm produce prices rise for fifth week

BEIJING -- Prices of farm produce in China have inched up for the fifth straight week during the week ending August 19, the Ministry of Commerce said Tuesday.

The wholesale cost of 18 types of vegetables monitored across 36 major cities gained 2.2 percent from the previous week, as rainy and hot weather affected vegetable growth and storage, the ministry said.

The retail price of eggs went up 1.3 percent week-on-week. The wholesale price of pork, a staple meat in China, rose 0.6 percent from a week earlier, but still down 23.1 percent from last year.

Wholesale prices of grain and oil fluctuated mildly last week, with the cost of rice, peanut oil and soy oil inching up 0.2 percent, 0.3 percent and 0.2 percent, respectively, from the previous week. The rapeseed oil price was unchanged and the cost of flour went down 0.2 percent, the ministry noted.

Prices of major production remained stable, with mineral and chemical products recording higher costs, while building materials and steel seeing prices decline, it said.

Meanwhile, eight staple aquatic products reported a 1.2-percent drop in wholesale prices from the previous week.

A report released separately by the Ministry of Agriculture on Tuesday showed that the average wholesale price of aquatic products across the country dropped 1.38 percent in July, compared with June. But the figure marked a 8.09-percent rise from last year.

The rise in farm produce prices is expected to push up inflation in August, as food prices account for a third of the proportion when calculating the country's inflation figure.

China's inflation rate eased to 1.8 percent in July, marking the lowest level since January 2010.