Prices of pork, chicken and egg declined from the last sampled period of 1 April to 10 April, according to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

Beans led the fall in vegetable prices by losing 6.8 per cent, while cucumber and tomato prices dipped by 3.9 per cent and 3.1 per cent, respectively.

The 10-day snapshot could reflect the trend in consumer price index (CPI), a main gauge of inflation, as food prices account for nearly one-third of the prices used in calculating the index.

China's consumer inflation grew 0.9 percent year-on-year in March, as stable prices reinforced the view that the world's second-largest economy is firming up, according to the NBS.

The NBS attributed the lower CPI reading to sharply lowering food prices, which fell 1.9 per cent in March. Vegetable prices dropped the most, by 7.9 per cent from February.