(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-01-20 15:33

The consumer goods retail sales in China have surged 17 percent to stand at 8.9 million yuan ($1.2 million) in 2007, said the Commerce Ministry at a work conference in Beijing on Saturday.

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The increase, which paled the national output growth, was significantly higher than the growth rate of retail sales of consumer goods in 2006, which gained 13.7 percent to 7.6 trillion yuan.

The retail sales have increased by an annual rate of 13.1 percent from 2002, when the number was 4.8 trillion yuan.

Chinese consumers paid more for daily necessities like pork and edible oil in 2007 on price hikes, as the inflation indicative consumer price index has stayed well above the official critical mark of four percent and shot to an 11-year high of 6.9 percent in November last year.

Official statistics revealed edible oil, pork and beef prices in early January in 36 large- and medium-sized cities nationwide surged 58 percent, 43 percent and 46 percent, respectively, year on year.

The government on Wednesday moved to restrict price hikes on key household commodities, including on grain, edible oils, meat, milk, eggs and liquefied petroleum gas.

Chinese Commerce Minister Chen Deming on Saturday called on departments at all levels to ensure market supply during the Olympic Games and public holidays such as the upcoming Spring Festival.

The nation currently has commodity reserves in 23 provincial regions for 22 kinds of products. It also has a primary market supervision network covering 22 distribution industries and 600 consumer goods.