China's consumer inflation growth for May fell below market expectations, driven down by slumping vegetable prices.

The consumer price index, a main gauge of inflation, grew 2.1 percent year on year in May, down from 2.4 percent in April, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said.

The rise was below market forecasts of around 2.5 percent, according to Wang Jun, an analyst at the China Center for International Economic Exchanges, a government think tank.

The NBS mainly attributed the slowdown to falling vegetable prices, which shrank 13.8 percent in May from April.

Production activity remains sluggish.

The producer price index, which measures wholesale inflation, fell 2.9 percent year on year in May, marking the steepest drop since September last year and pointing to continued weak market demand.