BEIJING -- China's farm produce prices in 36 large and medium-sized cities edged up slightly in the week ending Dec 21 compared with the previous week, the Commerce Ministry said Thursday.

The average price of 18 vegetables went up 1.2 percent in the time period. The prices of celery and eggplant rose 6 percent and 5 percent, respectively.

Last week, the prices of mutton and beef rose 0.5 percent and 0.1 percent, respectively, and pork declined 0.1 percent. The average price of aquatic products went down 0.2 percent, and egg prices dropped 0.7 percent.

The prices of rice and flour stayed flat, and bean oil and peanut oil prices went down 0.4 percent and 0.1 percent, according to the ministry.

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

China's CPI grew by its slowest pace in five years in November, rising by 1.4 percent year on year, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.

This is the third month in a row that China has seen its CPI rise within 2 percent. For the first 11 months, inflation grew 2 percent, well below the 3.5 percent full-year target set by the government.