A shortage in the supply of a number of farm products like garlic, green beans and corn has partly led to rising prices, the Ministry of Agriculture said Friday.

The price of green beans and garlic has tripled in the past weeks, business portal China Food Network reported.

Green beans are selling for about 20 yuan (US$2.9) a kg and garlic is selling for about 10 yuan a kg, the network reported.

But the average price of 28 vegetables monitored by the authorities has continuously decreased for the past three weeks, latest figures from the ministry showed.

The supply of green beans and garlic has plunged because of lower production and increasing exports, said Ma Shuping, deputy director of the ministry's crop farming department.

Green bean production alone was hit by bad weather, decreasing by more than 130,000 tons last year, Ma said. At the same time, 230,000 tons more of the produce were exported amid falling imports, she said.

Domestic supply of green beans fell by at least 400,000 tons last year, she said.

"Besides the supply shortage, more people are drinking green bean soup on hot days in line with health trends and that helps drive up prices," Ma said.