The average wholesale price of 18 vegetables declined 0.5 per cent during the 18 January-3 February period from a week earlier due to increased market supplies, the MOC said in a press release.

That represented an end to a 13-week rising streak, MOC data showed.

The wholesale price for pork, a staple meat in China, retreated by 0.8 per cent from the week before after climbing for 11 weeks in a row, according to the press release.

Meanwhile, the retail price of eggs rose 0.3 per cent, slower than the 0.4-per cent growth the week before.

The average wholesale price of eight aquatic products edged up 0.1 per cent, down 1.1 per centage points from a week earlier.

Food prices account for about one-third of the prices used to calculate the consumer price index (CPI), a main gauge of inflation, in China.

The country's CPI grew 2.5 per cent year on year in December, up from 2.0 per cent in November and 1.7 per cent in October, bringing the full-year increase to 2.6 per cent, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics.