2011-01-20 17:32

BEIJING -- Chinese farm produce prices rose for a third consecutive week in the one ending January 16, the Ministry of Commerce said Thursday.

One reason for the increase was the costs associated with vegetable growing have been relatively high during winter, the ministry said in a statement on its website.

The price of green peppers, cucumbers and eggplants all rose by at least 10 percent last week.

Meat and oil prices also continued to increase with the price of pork, mutton, and soybean oil up 0.2 percent, 0.7 percent and 0.3 percent, respectively.

Last year, rising food prices pushed up China's consumer price index (CPI), the major gauge of inflation. China's CPI hit 3.3 percent in 2010, compared with the government's target ceiling of 3 percent, the National Bureau of Statistics said Thursday.

The price of producer goods also edged higher last week. The price of rubber and steel increased 1.1 percent and 0.9 percent, respectively.