China's pork prices rose 3.4% last week

BEIJING--Pork prices rose 3.4 percent week-on-week in the previous week ended July 3 compared to?an increase of 4.5 percent the week before, according to the Ministry of Commerce (MOC) Tuesday.

Since early May pork prices have continued to rise in China mainly due to a domestic shortage of pigs and higher pig feed costs caused by rising grain prices.

Pork is the most widely consumed and affordable meat in China, and its price weighs heavily on the consumer price index (CPI).

The MOC data also showed that during the week ended July 3, the price of chicken rose 0.5 percent while that of mutton gained 0.4 percent. However, beef prices dipped 0.2 percent.

The price of fish, rice, flour and cooking oil rose as well.

The average wholesale prices of 18 staple vegetables were almost flat, while the wholesale prices of specific vegetables were mixed.

The wholesale price of cabbages surged 14.3 percent while that of garlic, potato and onion dropped 16.4 percent and 7.8 percent, respectively.

Food prices have a key weight in the calculation of CPI, a major gauge of inflation.

Prices of most producer goods, which are another major factor in the CPI calculation, fell during the period from the previous week.

Minerals, energy, steel, rubber, chemical products and construction materials posted price declines in the week, while the prices of raw materials for light industry and non-ferrous metals rose, according to the MOC.