Plummeting food prices feed steep annual drop amid renewed calls to stimulate economy and offset weakening demand
China’s consumer prices fell at their fastest pace in 15 years in January, as the world’s second-largest economy sank deeper into deflation amid weakening demand.
Data released on Thursday showed that China’s consumer price index tumbled last month, falling by 0.8% compared with a year earlier. It marks the fourth consecutive month of declines, as well as the sharpest drop since September 2009, when the global economy was still grappling with aftershocks from the 2008 banking crisis.
Food prices were the biggest drag on the headline inflation figure, having fallen by 5.9% on an annual basis, due in part to a 17% slump in pork prices. Fresh vegetables fell by 12.7%, while fruit dropped by 9.1%.
China’s economy has been struggling to recover from the Covid-19 pandemic after restrictions were lifted in late 2022. It has also been dealt a significant blow by the contraction in its indebted property sector, leading to the developer Evergrande being ordered to liquidate last month.
And if food becomes too cheap producers will stop making it, which has its own obvious problems.
Fun fact, this is why price setting and price ceilings don’t work,
The Nordic states have discovered a better solution is to have a maximum annual adjustment range, I think a refined approach would be to tie that adjustment to the federal interest rate, not only does it avoid gouge markets, it also balances the equation of vlas interests so that the wealthy and working class both have interests in raising and lowering interest rates.
That’s an issue in a complete free-market state, but China is still nominally communist, i imagine that state control will occur before food shortages occur.