Inflationary pressures in China are currently at an 11 year high with food prices having gone up by more than 10% in 2008 alone. Contributing factors include the bad weather which brought China to a stand still during the holidays recently. The government have set up temporary price controls and increased the minimum wage in some areas to try and ease the situation but for some the impact is fairly stark when it comes to buying the weekly essentials. Earlier today I spoke with a friend in southern China who has just started back at university after the spring festival break. Rather worryingly they complained that the canteen on campus had stopped serving meat with any of the meals because of the price increases.…