|
China issues regulation on grain business
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2004-06-04 10:21
China released Thursday a newly-approved regulation on grain trading, which
took effect the same day and aims to encourage fair competition in grain trading
activities as the country liberalizes grain business.
Under the regulation approved on May 19 by the State Council, or the central
Chinese government, State-owned, private and other companies are urged to engage
in grain trading business to promote fair competition, while efforts to hinder
free trading through illegal means are prohibited.
The State-owned grain trading firms, which dominate the grain market, are
asked to transform their business mechanism, improve their market
competitiveness, and continue to play the leading role as the main distribution
channel of grain and take the lead in following the government's grain policies,
according to the regulation.
The regulation stipulates that grain prices should be decided by the market,
and grain dealers should follow the guidelines of free will, fair trading and
honesty, and should not harm the legitimate rights and interests of grain
growers and consumers and the national, social and public interests in trading
activities.
Premier Wen Jiabao signed a decree on May 26 to make public the regulation,
which comprises 54 articles with six chapters.
According to the decree, two 1998 regulations issued by the State Council on
grain purchase and penalizing illegal grain deals will be abrogated as the new
regulation goes into effect. Addressing a two-day national meeting that ended
here Tuesday, the premier listed liberalization of grain trading and pricing and
offering subsidies to grain growers as among China's priority tasks for
reforming its grain distributing system.
It is high time for China to liberalize grain trading in major
grain-producing areas, and efforts should be made to improve the grain pricing
mechanism and set up a unified, national, open, and competitive grain market,
Wen noted.
As of this year, added the premier, China would introduce a system across the
country to offer subsidies directly to grain growers in leading grain-producing
areas so as to encourage them to grow more grain.
The reform would give scope to a positive role in encouraging grain
production, raising farmers' income, stabilizing the grain market, and ensuring
national food security.
|
