In the first nine months of this year, the Chinese government
purchased 45 billion kilograms of grain from farmers at the minimum
floor price to protect rural people from a fall in market
rates.
Nie Zhenbang, director of China's State Grain Bureau, made the
remark on Wednesday at a national conference on grain circulation
held in Yinchuan, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region.
The government purchased 41 billion kilograms of wheat and four
billion kilograms of indica rice.
"The minimum grain price policy has been implemented to protect
farmers' interests and ensure that grain continues to be planted,"
he said.
Explaining the policy, he said if the market price of major
kinds of grain including wheat and rice drops below the minimum
price set by the government, state-owned enterprises will intervene
to buy grain at the minimum price.
During the first nine months of 2006, China's state-owned grain
companies purchased grain totaling 90.9 billion kilograms from
farmers, accounting for over 60 percent of the total bought from
farmers.
The Chinese government has adopted a series of policies in
recent years to protect farmers' interests, including abolishing
agricultural taxes, providing subsidies and setting a minimum price
for grain and a maximum price for fertilizers.
(Xinhua News Agency November 15, 2006)