The latest price moves touched the nerves of inflation-wary consumers, who worried that inflationary pressure would rebound as food prices account for nearly one-third of the basket of goods used to calculate China's consumer price index, the main gauge of inflation.
However, an official with China's top economic planner said Tuesday the price increases were "a reasonable recovery" from low bases.
Garlic prices remained within a reasonable range, while egg prices were still running low compared with the past two years' high levels, said Zhou Wangjun, deputy head of the price department of the National Development and Reform Commission.
Wholesale garlic prices stood at 5.5 yuan (87 cents) per kg currently, up 48.6 percent from the lowest point last year but well below the highest level of about 12 yuan per kg in October 2010, Zhou elaborated.
The price rises were mainly caused by cyclical fluctuations of production and indicated there were problems with China's agriculture sector in terms of scale, organization and information services, Zhou said.
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