Cooking oil price rises slow down

China's Ministry of Commerce says growth in the rise of domestic prices for cooking oil has slowed.

The ministry says the average price of barreled cooking oil in major cities last week rose 0.9 percent from the previous week to 13.97 yuan. That increase is down 0.3 percentage points, compared with that of the week before. The prices of soybean oil and peanut oil increased more than those of blend oil.

The Ministry of Commerce says related departments and enterprises are working to ensure cooking oil supplies for the New Year and Spring Festival. The ministry attributes the cooking oil price spikes to three reasons.

Wang Xinpei, Spokesperson of Ministry of Commerce said "The first reason for the oil price rise is the shrinking output of oil-bearing crops. Secondly, the ballooning oil prices in the global market. Thirdly, surging international shipping charges add to the cost of imported oil-bearing soybeans, which account for more than a half of the domestic market."

Editor:Xiong Qu