MOC plays down pork inflation fears

Pork prices will remain high this year, but will not soar, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Commerce (MOC) said on Thursday.

The average wholesale pork price hit 25.34 yuan (3.92 U.S. dollars) per kg last week, up 0.4 percent from the previous week to the highest point since October 2011, Shen Danyang told a briefing, citing a nationwide survey conducted by the ministry.

Pork prices have been rising for about a year after almost three years of falls, according to the MOC.

Shen attributed the rise to slumping pig supplies, as farmers chose to raise fewer pigs due to sluggish pork prices in previous years.

Pork is China's staple meat and its price is subject to a boom-and-bust cycle.

Vegetable prices will go down as it is getting warm and more supplies will hit the market, Shen added.

The consumer price index (CPI), a main gauge of inflation, grew 2.3 percent in February from one year earlier, up from January's 1.8 percent.

Food prices, which account for a third of the CPI calculation, rose 7.3 percent year on year, while non-food inflation edged up 1 percent in February.

Pork prices jumped by 25.4 percent year on year in February, contributing 0.59 percentage points of CPI growth, while vegetable prices shot up by 30.6 percent, accounting for 0.86 percentage points of CPI growth. Endi