In the second quarter of 2005, China's grain price fell for the
first time in recent years, which experts believe will reduce
incomes in rural areas, the Beijing-based Economic Information
Daily said on Friday.
Thanks to a 26.4-percent rise in the grain price last year,
China's rural population per capita cash income increased 12.5
percent during the first half of 2005, Zhang Haiwang, an official
with the National Bureau
of Statistics (NBS) was quoted by the newspaper as saying.
The number of the migrating rural labor force grew at a slower
pace this year, so the grain price drop will definitely affect the
stable growth of farmer's income, Zhang said.
NBS statistics show that the market grain price suffered a
year-on-year decrease of 1.7 percent in April, 1.6 percent in May
and 1.1 percent in June.
The fall of grain prices also affected the consumer price, of
which the food price makes one third. The first two quarters of
2005 witnessed a mere 2.3-percent rise in the consumer price, 1.3
percentage points lower than the same period last year.
Zhang suggests related sectors, particular state-owned grain
companies, should buy more foodstuff to add to the storage at the
bottom price set to protect the farmer's interests.
(Xinhua News Agency August 7, 2005)