China's farm produce prices fall last week

BEIJING - The price index for China's farm produce dropped in the week ending March 4 due to falling vegetable prices, the Ministry of Commerce said Tuesday.

The price index for farm produce went down 3.4 percent in the past week, compared with a 1-percent retreat the previous week. The index for production materials edged down 0.1 percent.

The average wholesale price of 30 kinds of vegetables slumped 9.5 percent from a week earlier, and the wholesale price of eggs decreased 2.8 percent.

The wholesale price of beef and mutton fell 0.2 percent and 0.8 percent, respectively, while that of pork dropped 6 percent.

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

CPI grew 1.5 percent year-on-year in January, down from December's 1.8 percent, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.