Egg prices slid 0.4 per cent last week. The pace of decline was 0.3 percentage points faster than one week earlier.

Pork prices dropped 0.8 per cent, while prices of beef and mutton gained 0.6 per cent and 0.2 per cent, respectively.

The wholesale prices of eight aquatic products rose 0.2 per cent due to shrinking supply amid the freezing season, the statement said.

Food prices have a one-third weighting in the calculation of China's consumer price index (CPI), a major gauge of inflation. The country's CPI eased to 4.1 per cent in December, the slowest rise in 15 months.