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1st Ld-Writethru: Food price rise a major driving force for
first-half CPI in China (2) |
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13:13, July 19, 2007 |
Meanwhile, means of production for agricultural products experienced a price rise of 5.2 percent in the first half of this year, a rate 3.9 percentage points higher than the year-earlier level.
This also helped push up grain prices, Li said.
In terms of prices of meat and fowl, Li said, rises for pork prices were the most noticeable, which was a result from cost being driven up by price hikes for feedstuff, transport fee and increasing pay for workers and short supply caused by narrow profit margin.
Pig blue-ear disease outbreaks in 20-odd provinces and autonomous regions also affected the supply, Li noted.
He added that there existed potential risks for CPI to go further up in the second half of this year.
According to Zhuang Jian, a senior economist with the China office of Asian Development Bank, continuous CPI rises at a high level will have little influence on rich people, but affect low-income earners. Zhuang believed the central government will take strong measures to maintain economic and social stability.
According to NBS data, on year-on-year term, CPI was up 2.2 percent in January, up 2.7 percent in February, up 3.3 percent in March, up 3.0 percent in April and up 3.4 percent in May. The first quarter CPI stood at 2.7 percent.
In related developments, retail prices of commodities rose 2.4 percent in the first half of this year, or up 3.2 percent in June. Factory prices of industrial products increased by 2.8 percent in the six-month period, or up 2.5 percent in June. Buying prices of raw materials, fuels and power supply went up 3.8 percent in the January-June period, or up 3.4 percent in June.
Source: Xinhua
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