China's consumer market steady during Dragon Boat Festival holiday

BEIJING, June 21 (Xinhua) -- China's consumer market maintained stable operation during the Dragon Boat Festival holiday, with sufficient supply and stable prices of daily necessities, the Ministry of Commerce said Sunday.

During the three-day holiday period, foot traffic and business turnover in 78 key pedestrian streets and commercial districts monitored by the ministry rose 4 percent and 3.5 percent year on year, respectively, according to the ministry.

As of Saturday, trade-in programs for consumer goods had benefited 136 million consumers and driven over 1 trillion yuan (about 146.78 billion U.S. dollars) in sales this year, the data showed.

In a breakdown, auto trade-ins reached 3.428 million units, generating 555.24 billion yuan in sales, while trade-ins of home appliances, digital and smart products totaled 132.895 million units, generating 451.63 billion yuan in sales.

The market supply of daily necessities remained ample, with prices generally stable. Nationwide inventories at 200 major wholesale markets for agricultural and sideline products were sufficient, according to the ministry.

Prices of grain, cooking oil, meat and fruits were largely unchanged from pre-holiday levels, while egg prices edged down 0.7 percent and vegetable prices fell 0.3 percent, according to the data.

The Dragon Boat Festival, also known as the Duanwu Festival, fell on Friday this year, and the public holiday runs from Friday to Sunday.