China's sugar price has climbing steadily of late, mounting to a new high of 5,000 yuan (about US$620) per ton, Friday's China Securities Journal reported.

The paper quoted the Ministry of Commerce as saying that the average retail price of sugar stood at 5.7 yuan in February, up 3.49 percent and 12.9 percent respectively over last month and the same period of last year.

Foods containing sugar, like beverages and cakes, also witnessed a price rise, according to the survey conducted by the ministry in supermarkets.

Due to the price hike and straining supply of sugar, cities like Qingdao in eastern Shandong Province and Guangzhou in southern Guangdong Province, reported a shortage of sugar in late February.

Insiders said the price rise is owed mainly to a drop in sugar production and a rising international price.

Friday's Shanghai Securities News said a meeting held by concerned departments has approved that the government will launch one million tons of sugar, so as to fetch up the market shortage, noting that market supply will determine the amount.

In 1991, China started up its national reserve of sugar, keeping the amount beyond one million tons in most years. The national sugar reserve had about 1.5 million and one million tons respectively in 2004 and 2005.

China is now the world's fourth largest sugar producer after Brazil, India, and European Union, and the world's fifth largest consumer after India, the EU, Brazil and the United States.

(Xinhua News Agency March 4, 2006)