| Inflation jumps 5.6% in July on surging food prices |
SHANGHAI, Aug. 13 -- THE Consumer Price Index surged 5.6 percent in July, the fastest pace in ten years, driven by ballooning food prices, the National Bureau of Statistics said today.
The Consumer Price Index (CPI), a gauge of inflation, grew 5.3 percent in urban areas and 6.3 percent in rural areas in the month, the bureau said.
Food, making up about one-third of the CPI, grew 15.4 percent in July.
Egg prices jumped 30.6 percent and grain prices grew 6.0 percent in the period, the bureau said.
Meat prices surged 45.2 percent through July. The jump was mainly attributed to a surging pork prices after an outbreak of fatal blue-ear disease in pigs.
The elimination of the disease has become a top priority as it can dispel the fears of breeders and convince them to raise more pigs.
CPI grew 4.4 percent in June, which was the biggest rise in three years.
Pork will continue to be expensive in the latter half of the year as a supply shortfall takes time to resolve, the Ministry of Commerce said in previous reports.
China pledged to "strictly control" corn processing and exports, the National Development and Reform Commission said earlier. Corn is the main feed for pigs. New corn-processing projects and expansion of existing projects should be stopped, it said.
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