China's farm produce prices rise slower

Farm produce prices rose slower in China last week as vegetable and pork prices ended months of gains, the Ministry of Commerce (MOC) said on Monday.

The average wholesale price of 18 vegetables declined 0.5 percent during the Jan. 18-Feb. 3 period from a week earlier due to increased market supplies, the MOC said in a press release.

That represented an end to a 13-week rising streak, MOC data showed.

The wholesale price for pork, a staple meat in China, retreated by 0.8 percent from the week before after climbing for 11 weeks in a row, according to the press release.

Meanwhile, the retail price of eggs rose 0.3 percent, slower than the 0.4-percent growth the week before.

The average wholesale price of eight aquatic products edged up 0.1 percent, down 1.1 percentage points from a week earlier.

Food prices account for about one-third of the prices used to calculate the consumer price index (CPI), a main gauge of inflation, in China.

The country's CPI grew 2.5 percent year on year in December, up from 2.0 percent in November and 1.7 percent in October, bringing the full-year increase to 2.6 percent, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics.