BEIJING - China's State Council, or the Cabinet, on Saturday urged the building of an efficient, safe and regulated distribution system for agricultural products in a bid to lower prices.

The government will work to boost the country's logistics capabilities and better link producers and consumers to cut intermediary costs, according to a statement released after a State Council executive meeting chaired by Premier Wen Jiabao.

An information network should be built to monitor production, distribution and consumption of farm produce, while cities should have enough storage for emergency supplies to avoid large price fluctuations, said the statement.

It also seeks the improvement of the tracking system and the establishment of a regular quality inspection system for agricultural products.

The government will spend more to renovate the current wholesale and retail farm produce markets and also build new ones while cutting rent and management fees for sellers in those markets, according to the statement.

Private investment should be encouraged in the farm produce logistics industry sector, it said.

China's consumer price index (CPI), a main gauge of inflation, rose 6.2 percent year-on-year in August, far above the government's target of around four-percent for the year.

Food prices account for about a third of CPI calculation in China.