The price of vegetables in Guangdong Province went down 12% in the month of May while the price of beef was up 22.4% year-on-year, according to the latest figures by the National Bureau of Statistics. The prices of pork and eggs also went down as the quarterly consumer price index decreased 0.7% quarter-on-quarter but increased 1.7% year-on-year, tetimes reports.
The decrease in the price of vegetables was attributed to improvements in the weather conditions while the 1% decrease in the price of pork was put down to the ongoing H7N9 scare. The prices of chicken, duck and eggs fell by 5.5%, 5.6% and 1.5% respectively.
However, compared with last year, commodity prices are on an upward trajectory. Housing is up 3.7% and the overall food price index is up 0.64%.
Among the things that have increased in price significantly are beef, which is up 22.4%; medical fees, which are up 22.1%; and household goods and services, which are up 14.7%.
For this reason, keeping up with the Lius and Zhangs (or just making ends meet) is set to be as tough as ever.