Prices of farm produce in China continued to rise in the week from July 23 to 29, the Ministry of Commerce announced on Wednesday.

Compared with the previous week, meat prices were up 1.8 percent, with pork up two percent and beef up 1.4 percent.

The price of slaughtered chickens rose 1.4 percent and eggs 2.4 percent as the egg yields declined in the hot summer and floods in South China added pressure to supplies. Against this backdrop, analysts predicted that chicken and egg prices would continue rising this week.

Vegetable prices saw a rise of 3.3 percent as the floods tightened supplies and made transport, delivery and storage difficult.

Heavy rainfall is forecast to continue in most regions of China and the vegetable prices would likely set new highs.

Analysts said the food price rises contributed significantly to China's consumer price index (CPI), a key inflation indicator, which rose 3.2 percent in the first half and 4.4 percent in June, well above the government-set alarm level of three percent.

Some Chinese economists predicted China's CPI from July to September would rise 4.5 percent compared with the same period last year.

(Xinhua News Agency August 2, 2007)