According to Beijing Municipal Statistics Bureau and the Beijing General Investigation Team of the National Statistics Bureau, the total output of the retailers in Beijing hit 343.7 billion yuan, exceeding that of 2006 and also a new high in the past 10 years.

The sales value of basic necessities has increased by 14% -18% this year, which has served as a major boosters to the growth of the total sales value of commodities in Beijing.

In last November alone, CPI in Beijing was 5.3% higher than the same period last year and 0.9% higher than last October.

The food price hike should be blamed for the increasing CPI, especially the price hike of meat and vegetables.

(Chinanews.cn December 17, 2007)