Vegetable prices kept increasing in the first 10 days of January compared with the last 10 days of December, while meat prices edged up, according to China's National Bureau of Statistics, which published the average food prices of 50 cities on Monday.

Cabbage prices increased 11.3 percent to 2.47 yuan ($0.397) per kilogram, while potato prices rose 4 percent to 3.86 yuan per kg.

Pork prices increased 2.6 percent to 27.68 yuan per kg, while beef prices rose 1.6 percent to 59.30 yuan per kg.

Prices of aquatic products remained stable in the first 10 days of January.

China's consumer price index — a main gauge of inflation — increased 2.5 percent year-on-year in December, the highest figure since May, the National Bureau of Statistics said on Friday.