China's grain prices rose by 4.15 percent in the fourth quarter of 2006 to average 1.56 yuan per kilogram, according to the latest report from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) Monday.

 

Grain prices dropped by 1.43 and 0.24 percent in the first two quarters and then surged 3.14 percent in the third. A rise in the price of various goods is linked to the grain price hike, the report says.

 

The government pursued its minimum purchase price policy to increase control of grain production including wheat for the first time in 2006.

 

The price of wheat went up 2.1 percent year on year in the fourth quarter. Soybean prices rose 2.1 percent and corn was up 7.5 percent, said the report.

 

The grain price hike also contributed to a 1.4-percentage-point rise in the price of farm produce which surged by 5.54 percent in the fourth quarter.

 

(Xinhua News Agency February 6, 2007)