Coronavirus: Food items cost 20 percent more in China now

Beijing, Feb 10 (HS)Coronavirus attack is overshadowing China’s economy. Inflation in China reached an upper level of more than 8 years due to the outbreak of the dreaded coronavirus and the high demand in the new year. Not only this, food inflation in January has reached 20.6 percent.

According to China’s official data released on Monday, retail inflation in China was 5.4 percent in January, compared to 4.5 percent in December. This rate of retail inflation is the highest since October 2011, when it was at 5.5 percent. Earlier, the Bloomberg survey had estimated inflation at 4.9 percent, but inflation was even higher.

China’s National Bureau of Statistics said that inflation rose not only due to the Lunar New Year but also due to the coronavirus. According to analysts, the inflation rate has increased so much due to efforts to prevent coronavirus.

Experts said that inflation generally decreases after the New Year holiday, but this year it may remain high even after that, as the supply chain has collapsed. Pork became 116 percent more expensive on an annual basis in January. Inflation has increased due to the high prices of pork and fresh vegetables. During this period, the inflation of goods at the factory rate increased by 0.1 percent in January.  

Hindusthan Samachar / Radha