Agricultural product prices down for fifth week

China's agricultural product prices dropped for a fifth straight week from May 28 to June 3 while prices of production materials decreased for a seventh week in the same period, said the Ministry of Commerce on Wednesday.

The wholesale prices of 18 types of vegetables monitored by the ministry dropped 7.5 percent from the previous week because of abundant supply. But garlic prices surged by 20.3 percent owing to a decreased planting area and unfavorable weather.

Pork prices slightly dropped by 0.9 percent, while mutton, beef and chicken each edged up by less than 1 percent in the same period.

Egg prices rebounded from a series of straight falls since the beginning of the year and rose by 2.6 percent week-on-week from May 28 to June 3.

Prices of energy, rubber, non-ferrous metals, minerals, steel and light industrial raw materials dropped week-on-week from May 28 to June 3 while prices of construction materials and chemical products remained unchanged.

"The CPI's year-on-year growth has begun to ease and will probably come in below 3 percent in June," said Lian Ping, chief economist from the Bank of Communications.

The National Bureau of Statistics is scheduled to announce major economic statistics on Saturday, including the CPI and producer price index.