CHINESE DROUGHTS FORCE UP FOOD PRICES
DROUGHTS in China have placed even greater upward pressure on food prices, provoking a dilemma for the Chinese authorities, as they seek to control inflation. Pork prices have jumped in particular, further inflated by strong demand from May’s holidays. Food prices account for about a third of China’s consumer price index. Slower economic growth is set to test the central bank’s appetite for monetary tightening.