COST OF LIVING IN CHINA

King Country Chronicle, Volume XXV, Issue 3261, 31 January 1931, Page 3

COST OF LIVING IN CHINA

e ALMOST DOUBLED IN 17 YEARS In accord with China’s tradition of being out of step with the rest of the world, commodity prices have been rising in China rapidly this summer, while they have been falling in other countries. The economic research bureau of Nankai University in Tientsin, which provides the most reliable statistics obtainable in China, shows, says the Peiping correspondent of the Chicago Tribune, that commodity prices have been rising since January, and that commodities in July were 9 per cent, higher than in July of 1926, and 21 per cent, higher than in 1926. The purchasing power of the Chinese dollar has consequently dropped, the bureau director points out, showing that the cost of living has almost doubled in 17 years. While manufactured goods have risen more rapidly than raw materials, the statistics show that raw materials have also increased substantially during the first six months of this year. The increase in food prices has been most severe in its effects upon the people. The staple diet of most northern Chinese include rice and wheat flour. These have risen steadily in price since January. Cotton goods, both imported and domestic, have also risen steadily.

The slump in silver exchange is given as the principal cause of higher commodity prices in China. This country must import rice and wheat flour to meet the food needs of its people. So the silver slump has affected the living costs of coolies as well as well-to-do Chinese.