BEIJING, May 23 -- Pork prices in China registered a week-on-week decline from May 15 to 19, official data shows.

During the period, the average pork price tracked by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs was 18.19 yuan (about 2.59 U.S. dollars) per kilogram, down 1.3 percent compared with the previous week.

The price was 13.6 percent lower year on year, and the decline extended by 2.8 percentage points from a week earlier, the data reveals.

The supply of pork increased during the period, as some large-scale breeding farms showed great enthusiasm for hog slaughter while the "reluctance to sell" market sentiment declined, but pork demand shrank, leading to falling prices, according to the ministry.