BEIJING - Pork prices in China continued to edge down last week as supply increased and demand softened, official data showed.

From March 23 to 27, the average pork price index in 16 provincial-level regions tracked by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs came in at 45.86 yuan ($6.5) per kg, down 3.5 percent week-on-week.

The price retreat came as the government has been taking multi-pronged measures to boost supply, including increasing subsidies to restore hog production, releasing frozen pork reserves and expanding imports.

China released another 20,000 tons of pork from its central reserves to increase market supply at the end of March, according to the Ministry of Commerce.

Prices of pork, a staple meat in China, have been soaring in recent months, mainly caused by African swine fever and cyclical factors.