Chinese liquor maker Wuliangye will raise prices for its alcohol by 20-30 percent from Sept 10, the firm said, the latest company to lift retail prices amid stubborn inflation pressures.

The official Xinhua news agency cited Wuliangye officials as saying that the price increase reflects strong demand and rising costs for raw materials, labour and transport.

Liquor is often served at lavish Chinese dinners.

Wuliangye is not alone in raising prices. Other firms that have recently raised prices or announced plans to do so include China's biggest steel maker, Baoshan Iron & Steel , and the country's top dairy product maker, China Mengniu Dairy Co as well as foreign fast food chain McDonald's and consumer product giant Unilever Plc (UNc.AS).

Even as China's economy slows, Beijing is still targeting inflation, which ran at three-year highs of 6.5 percent in July, as among its top policy priorities.

It stepped up restrictions on bank lending last week, and China's top economic planner said on Monday that inflation pressures stayed high in the world's No. 2 economy.

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