Vegetable prices drop in major Chinese cities

BEIJING - Farm produce prices in 36 major cities fell last week due to abundant supply in most regions, official data released on Tuesday.

From April 20 to 26, the average price for 18 monitored vegetables edged down 2.3 percent from a week earlier, led by cucumber, lettuce and beans, the Ministry of Commerce (MOC) said in a statement.

Prices of wheat flour and rice remained flat. The price of aquatic products remained stable, while prices of mutton and beef inched down 0.9 percent and 0.3 percent, respectively, from the previous week, according to the MOC.

Food prices account for about one third of China's consumer price index (CPI), the main gauge of inflation. The CPI gained 1.4 percent in March from one year earlier, below the government target of 3 percent.