BEIJING, Jan. 23 (Xinhua) -- The price index for China's farm produce slightly retreated in the week ending Jan. 21 compared with the previous week, ending a nine-week rising streak, according to a Ministry of Commerce statement.

The price index for farm produce edged down 0.1 percent in the past week, while the index for production materials went down 0.5 percent.

The average wholesale price of 30 kinds of vegetables fell 1.4 percent from a week earlier while that of eggs went up 0.1 percent.

The wholesale price of pork went down 0.5 percent, while the cost of beef and mutton rose 0.7 percent and 0.5 percent, respectively.

Food accounts for about one-third of China's consumer price index (CPI), a main gauge of inflation.

The CPI rose 1.6 percent year on year in 2017, down from 2 percent for 2016 and well below the government's target to hold the CPI at around 3 percent, official data showed.