Price of noodles jumps

The tug of war between the government of Liuzhou, a south China city, and its rice noodle makers over the prices of the popular snack food could be solved as early as today.

Last Thursday, factories in Liuzhou came together and raised the wholesale prices of raw rice noodles by nearly 50 percent to about two yuan (30 cents) per kg. Their action defied the local government's previous warnings that they would risk receiving a fine of as much as 1 million yuan for violating China's laws against price-fixing, media reported.

The factories' collective move has infuriated residents in Liuzhou, a city of the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region. Netizens have called for a boycott of the food, and the local government has also launched an investigation to reveal the causes of the price hike.