February 15, Farm produce prices in China fell in the week ending Feb. 12 from a week earlier, led by vegetables, the Ministry of Commerce said in a report on Tuesday.

The wholesale prices of 18 staple vegetables were down 4.8 percent on average during the week, the report said.

Cucumbers slid 20.5 percent and green pepper lost 16.2 percent.

The price of pork fell 1.9 percent last week, compared with a 0.8 percent decrease in the week prior. The price of eggs fell 1.3 percent last week after trimming 0.4 percent in the previous week.

Li Huiyong, chief macroeconomist at Shenyin and Wanguo Securities, said the continuous declines in prices of edible agricultural produce were led by falls in vegetable and pork prices.

China’s higher-than-expected January consumer inflation was mainly pushed up by pork prices, Li said.

Pork prices have started to extend declines this month under the effect of macroeconomic controls, and vegetables fell with increased supplies, Li said.

Li expects the Consumer Price Index to grow 3.3-3.6 percent this month, compared to 4.5 percent in January.