Consumers shop in a supermarket in Yichang, Central China's Hubei Province July 25, 2007. [newsphoto]

China's top price regulating agency has ordered a crackdown on the manipulation of food prices after the country reported the highest inflation in more than 30 months in June, news reports said on Friday.

The focus will be on grain, cooking oil, pork, beef, mutton, and poultry, and products made from these materials, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) said in a circular, according to the Beijing News.

Some products have witnessed a steady rise in prices since the last quarter of last year and price fluctuations are normal in a market economy, a NDRC research office said.

However, according to the office, several industry associations and some firms are engaged in conspiracies coordinating price increases, and certain companies even spread rumors.

NDRC officials slammed those actions as seriously disrupting the normal pricing order and undermining social stability.

The crackdown came after instant noodle makers and over 20 Chinese fast food chains announced price hikes, citing rising costs.

Earlier this week, the agency told local governments not to intervene directly into market prices in response to a Northwest China city capping the price of beef noodles.

Food prices are in spotlight in the last few months as they are experiencing rapid price hikes, pushing up the Consumer Price Index (CPI), a barometer of inflation.

The CPI grew 4.4 percent in June, the fastest in 34 months, and 3.2 percent in the first half of the year, above the official target of 3.0 percent. The accelerated inflation has made life more difficult for low-income earners.