The central Chinese government has been investing 1.3 billion
yuan (about US$160 million) worth of state treasury bonds in
turning wholesale markets of farmers' produce online and adding new
testing facilities to these markets.
The information was learned from an ongoing national meeting on
the subject held in Nanchang, capital of east China's Jiangxi
Province.
The investing endeavor started in 2003 and 290 key wholesale
markets of farmers' produce have been benefiting by the scheme
across the country, said the information.
Serving as a bridge between farmers and the market, wholesale
markets of farmers' produce are of great significance to adjusting
agricultural structure, lowering cost needed for distribution,
increasing farmers' income and guaranteeing food security, said the
meeting.
The supporting policy of the state has enormously encouraged the
society to invest more in wholesale marketplaces of farmers'
produce, said the sources, citing the 290 marketplaces as
examples.
Corporate investment makes up 93.4 percent of the gross
investment of 16.55 billion yuan (about US$2.04 billion) for
building the above-mentioned number of wholesale markets.
Thanks to the presence of T-bond investment, farmer traders on
the wholesale markets now use IC cards, instead of the long-lived
tradition of spot trading, to settle accounts.
(Xinhua News Agency November 17, 2005)