2010-12-22 09:13

BEIJING - Prices for Chinese farm produce and production materials remained relatively stable last week, the Ministry of Commerce (MOC) said Tuesday.

During the week Dec 13-19, the wholesale prices of 18 staple vegetables were unchanged compared with the previous week, after falling for five consecutive weeks, the report said.

The price of ginger fell 4.7 percent while the price of celery dropped 2.6 percent. The price of pepper fell 2.5 percent.

The price of balsam pear price jumped 6.2 percent while that of cole rose 5.7 percent. The eggplant price increased 5.2 percent.

The price of meat rose slightly, with pork prices up 0.5 percent. Mutton prices rose 0.7 percent and chicken prices rose 0.4 percent. The price of beef was steady.

Prices of aquatic products rose 0.6 percent, with carp price up 1.5 percent. Grass carp prices were up 1 percent.

Peanut oil prices increased 0.5 percent while soybean oil prices rose 0.4 percent. Colza oil prices edged 0.2 percent higher.

Flour prices increased 0.7 percent while rice prices rose 0.4 percent. Egg prices increased 0.2 percent.

Producer goods including rubber, nonferrous metal and steel rose, with rubber up 2.7 percent. The prices of raw material for light industry and agricultural production were flat while chemical product prices fell.

Food prices have a one-third weighting in the calculation of China's consumer price index (CPI), a major gauge of inflation, which hit a 28-month high of 5.1 percent year on year in November.