China's farm produce prices continue to climb

BEIJING - Prices of farm produce in China continued to climb in the week ending July 29, with a rise in the cost of 30 types of vegetable, data from the Ministry of Commerce showed.

The price index for farm produce edged up 0.9 percent in the past week, following a 0.6 percent gain the previous week, while the index for production materials rose 0.3 percent.

The average wholesale price of 30 types of vegetable went up 1.6 percent, compared with a 2.4 percent gain the week earlier.

The wholesale price of pork, the country's staple meat, rose 2.2 percent from the previous week. The price of beef went up 0.1 percent and mutton 0.2 percent, with wholesale eggs gaining 2.1 percent.

Food accounts for about one-third of China's consumer price index.

China's consumer price index, a main gauge of inflation, rose 1.9 percent year-on-year in June, compared with 1.8 percent for May, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.