Food prices increased 6.1% year-on-year on average in April, up from a 4.1% rise in the previous month, driving up overall consumer inflation to a six-month high, reported Caixin. Aside from pork prices rising by double digits in April, average wholesale prices of several fruits climbed as much as 42% as of June 3 compared with the start of the year, according to official data, most likely because of cold snaps in several fruit-producing regions. Meanwhile, the fall armyworm, a type of moth caterpillar originally from the US, has invaded 18 provincial-level regions and poses a potentially "catastrophic" threat to corn production, according to researchers.
