BEIJING - China's pork prices dropped by 0.5 percent during the week ending July 31, marking the second straight week of declines, the Ministry of Commerce (MOC) said Tuesday.

The decline was 0.3 percentage points higher than that of the previous week ending July 24, which marked the first such drop in three months.

High pork prices have become a significant concern, as the consumer price index, a main gauge of inflation, shot up to a three-year high of 6.4 percent in June, driven by surging food prices.

Data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed that pork prices in June surged by 57.1 percent year-on-year.

Meanwhile, 18 types of vegetables saw an average price drop of 3.1 percent last week over the previous week. Wholesale prices for eight types of aquatic products dropped by 0.1 percent week-on-week as well.

Egg prices saw an 0.8 percent week-on-week increase last week, with the MOC forecasting that egg prices will peak in September, as summer temperatures have had an effect on egg output.