Vegetable prices up 3.8% during week-long holiday

BEIJING - Wholesale prices of 18 types of vegetables in China's major cities rose 3.8 percent from the previous week during the week-long National holidays that started Oct 1, the Ministry of Commerce announced on Oct 7.

Supply of daily necessities was adequate and prices of vegetables and meat recorded small increases between Oct 1 and 7, the ministry said in an email statement.

Also, prices of pork and beef both gained 0.7 percent from a week earlier throughout the country, the statement said.

Food prices account for one-third of China's consumer price index (CPI), which jumped to a 22-month high of 3.5 percent year on year in August, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.

It is the second consecutive month that the CPI has exceeded the government's full-year target of 3 percent. The National Development and Reform Commission said in September that China's overall target of inflation around 3 percent was achievable.