China's farm produce prices slightly up

BEIJING -- The prices of farm produce in 36 major Chinese cities slightly climbed last week, according to new official data.

The Ministry of Commerce said in an online statement that the prices of rice and peanut oil gained 0.2 percent and 0.1 percent, respectively, last week, while the average wholesale prices of 8 aquatic products rose 1.2 percent from a week earlier.

The price of eggs grew 0.1 percent week on week, as the impact of the H7N9 bird flu has gradually waned.

Meanwhile, the price of pork, the country's staple meat, dropped 0.2 percent last week after rising for three consecutive weeks, while the wholesale prices of 18 vegetables dipped 0.3 percent, the ministry said.

Food prices account for about one-third of the prices used to calculate China's consumer price index, a main gauge of inflation.

China's CPI growth slowed to 2.1 percent in May.