November 2 -- The prices of agricultural food products fell for the third consecutive week last week, increasing the chances of lower consumer price index (CPI) growth, reports China Securities Journal, citing the Ministry of Commerce.

According to the Ministry of Commerce, the average wholesale price of 18 types of vegetables last week fell 2.2 percent week-on-week, of which the price of lettuce dropped 15.4 percent, and the prices of celery and cabbage decreased 11.7 percent and 11.4 percent.

The average wholesale price of eight types of seafood fell 1.0 percent.

The price of meat fell 1.0 percent week-on-week, while the price of eggs dropped 0.6 percent.

Except for the National Day holiday period, the following three weeks in October saw a drop in food prices. The average wholesale price of 18 types of vegetables fell 5.0 percent in the second week, 2.5 percent in the third week, and 2.2 percent in the last week of October.

During the same period, the price of pork fell 1.2 percent, 1.8 percent, and 1.0 percent, respectively.

The Ministry of Commerce had in October released the 12th Five-Year Plan for the agricultural sector which called for the establishment of large-scale slaughtering and distribution enterprises in order to extend the industrial chain, the integration of production and marketing operations, and the development of cold chain distribution.

Zhang Lei, an analyst at Minsheng Securities, said improving the logistics system will help to lower the distribution and storage costs of agricultural produce, which are double that of Western countries.

Zhang predicts the CPI growth rate to fall to 4.8 percent in November, and 4.5 percent in December.

Shares of Haikou Agriculture and Industry and Trade (000735) fell 0.19 percent to trade at 5.25 yuan per share at 14:35 today.