China's grain prices will remain stable, even as the worst drought in half a century parches the country's major breadbasket, the vice minister of agriculture said on Thursday.

The combined efforts of the government and farmers slashed the area of drought-afflicted farmland among eight provinces by nearly a quarter from February 7 to February 11, Ministry of Agriculture figures showed.

But the drought persists in nearly 40 percent of wheat fields in the most affected provinces, including Hebei, Shanxi, Anhui, Jiangsu, Henan, Shandong, Shaanxi and Gansu.

"There has been no major fluctuation in grain prices despite the severity of the drought," vice-minister of agriculture Wei Chao'an told a press conference.

The ministry's monitoring of 160 national price-network stations found average grain prices increased by 0.44 percent over January to reach 1.72 yuan (US$0.25) per kg. Wheat and corn prices have remained stable, while the cost of rice has increased by 0.91 percent during the period.

"Considering the Spring Festival holiday's influence, China's grain prices held steady overall, and the price inflation is lower than the same period of last year," Wei said.

China's grain supply and reserve remains sufficient, thanks to good harvests over the past five years, he added.

"We believe the current drought will not lead to a rapid increase in grain prices or affect our country's food safety," the vice-minister said.

But drought relief work has largely increased farmers' production costs.

Greater investment had to be made for water, fertilizer, electricity and farming machinery, he said.