Commodity prices in China have remained at a stable level this year, said an official from the National Development and Reform Commission or NDRC.
Multiple measures were taken to guarantee the supply of important goods against the backdrop of a structural imbalance led by rising food prices.
Latest data from NDRC indicated an overall price drop in the fruit market as plenty of fresh and seasonal fruits have arrived since mid-July.
In the first half of August, the average retail price of vegetables fell to 6.04 yuan per kilogram, a 28.6 percent decrease from its peak in mid-February.
As for the fast-growing pork price under the impact of a swine plague, China has adopted measures regarding finance, insurance and land in a bid to aid farms and breeders, stimulate the entire production chain, and restore and increase the production capability.
Efforts were also made to increase the supply of substitutes such as chicken and beef, and to strengthen market regulation and supervision.
More than 80 million citizens with difficult living conditions have been provided with more social aid and relief, thanks to an initiative that ties social help standards with commodity prices. The initiative has been launched in 29 provinces since April, with more than 2 billion yuan spent.
Although China's consumer prices ticked up in July, analysts expected its inflation pressure to remain mild in the second half of 2019.
The consumer price index, a main gauge of inflation, rose by a 17-month high of 2.8 percent in July, up from an increase of 2.7 percent registered in June, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.
The pick-up was mainly attributed to higher food prices, which accounted for a large proportion in the CPI calculation, as pork prices continued rising because of the African swine fever while adverse weather affected vegetable supplies.
The government aimed to keep the CPI increase at around 3 percent this year.
The country's overall consumer prices would remain stable as the impact of structural factors would gradually fade with rising supplies, analysts say.
Measures that the government had put in place would gradually take effect and help ensure market supply and stabilize pork prices, analysts say.
The country vowed to keep its prudent monetary policy "neither too tight nor too loose" and make counter-cyclical adjustments in a timely and moderate manner, the central bank said in its second-quarter monetary policy report.
(Source:ourjiangsu.com)
