Steep rise in Chinese food prices

Food prices have risen 21% in China so far this year, fuelling concerns about inflation in the economy and the affordability of basic staple goods.

The surge was confirmed by the National Bureau of Statistics, which also revealed that economic growth eased slightly in the first quarter.

Growth dipped to 10.6% from 11.2% in the last three months of 2007, the weakest performance in over a year.

Rising food prices could cause major global instability, it has been warned.

BBC