China's farm produce prices continue to dip

BEIJING - China's farm produce prices continued to fall in the week ending May 13, according to data from the Ministry of Commerce.

The price index for farm produce dipped 0.9 percent in the past week, compared with a 0.6 percent decline in the previous week. The index for production materials edged up 0.2 percent.

The average wholesale price of 30 kinds of vegetables dropped 2.7 percent from a week earlier, a steeper decline than the 1.4 percent decrease in the previous week.

The wholesale price of pork, the country's staple meat, slipped 0.9 percent from a week earlier. The price of beef stayed basically at the same level while that of lamb rose 0.3 percent.

The wholesale price of eggs edged down 0.2 percent.

Food accounts for about one-third of China's consumer price index (CPI).

China's CPI rose 1.8 percent year-on-year last month, compared with 2.1 percent for March, as abundant food supplies kept inflation mild.