China's fresh vegetable prices set to fall

BEIJING, Sept. 16 (Xinhua) -- China's fresh vegetable prices are set to fall as market supply rebounds, an official said Wednesday.

The short supply of vegetables, mainly caused by unfavorable weather conditions, pushed prices up 6.4 percent month on month in August, Meng Wei, spokesperson for the National Development and Reform Commission, said at a press conference.

Noting that the growth cycle of vegetables is relatively short, Meng said the supply will soon recover with autumn vegetables coming onto the market, and that the prices will fall accordingly.

China's consumer price index (CPI), a main gauge of inflation, has been running below 3 percent for four consecutive months, with August's increase being the smallest in nearly 17 months.

With the recovery of pig production and weakening carry-over effects, the CPI's year-on-year growth is expected to continue to stabilize, she said.

Since the start of the year, governments at all levels have granted a total of 24.63 billion yuan (about $3.63 billion) of temporary price subsidies to 366 million people in need, Meng added.