China's farm produce prices rise slightly

BEIJING - Farm produce prices in 36 major Chinese cities rose slightly in the week ending December 15 compared with the previous week, showed a Ministry of Commerce statement on Tuesday.

The wholesale prices of pork, beef and mutton all went up 0.3 percent, and the average wholesale price of aquatic products gained 0.6 percent.

The average wholesale price of 18 kinds of vegetables rose 1.1 percent from a week earlier with the prices of eggplant and onion gaining 6.9 percent and 3.2 percent, respectively.

Food accounts for about one-third of China's consumer price index (CPI), a main gauge of inflation.

The CPI grew 3 percent year on year in November, down from 3.2 percent in October, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.