The Chinese government’s main economic planning body, the National Development and Reform Commission, is putting together a group of policies aimed at limiting inflation by restricting food price increases.
The Financial Times reported that food prices in China have increased at an annualised rate of 10.1 per cent over the past month. This has helped drive consumer price inflation to 4.4 per cent - significantly higher than the 3 per cent target the government set.
According to a report prepared by the Xinhua news agency on Monday, the cost of 18 staple vegetables was 62.4 per cent higher in the first 10 days of November than during the same period last year.
The average cost of the vegetables included in the report had increased by US$0.59 per kg, while the price of garlic had increased by 96 per cent and ginger by 90 per cent, the report stated.
So far several major cities have announced plans to cap food prices and the government has signaled it could instigate price controls, reported the Financial Times.
Other methods to control rising food costs could include subsidies for consumers, a crackdown on food hoarding, and a policy to make city mayors accountable for the price of set items of food, stated a report in the China Securities Journal.
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