BEIJING, March 10 (Xinhua) -- Pork prices in China edged down last week as hog production increased and demand softened, official data showed Tuesday.

From March 2 to March 6, the average pork price index in 16 provincial-level regions tracked by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs came in at 48.53 yuan (about 7 U.S. dollars) per kg, down 0.4 percent week on week.

The price retreat came as the Chinese government has been taking multi-pronged measures to boost supply, including increasing subsidies to restore hog production, releasing frozen pork reserves and expanding pork imports.

China released 20,000 tonnes of pork from its central reserves at the end of February in a bid to increase supply and stabilize market expectations, according to the Ministry of Commerce.

Prices of pork, a staple meat in China, have been soaring in recent months, mainly caused by African swine fever and cyclical factors.

Pork prices surged 116 percent in January from one year earlier, and together with other food price rises, pushed the growth of the consumer price index to its highest level in more than eight years.