The government plans to foster more large distributors of
farming materials in the next five years as farmers are expected to
spend more on means of production.
The country will have 10 large distributors by 2010, each with a
sales volume of more than 10 billion yuan (US$1.25 billion),
according to the Ministry of Commerce's 11th Five-Year Plan for the
building of a rural market system.
Only four such enterprises currently existed, said Huang Hai,
Assistant Minister of Commerce.
Farming materials distributors need to expand their business
scope and strengthen their competitiveness, according to the plan,
which predicts sales of farming materials will reach 1.1 trillion
yuan in 2010 and the annual growth rate will be maintained at 10
percent.
Meanwhile, per capita spending of farmers on production
materials is expected to increase 10 percent annually over the next
five years, thanks to the country's stable economic growth and
technological advancement in farming.
(Xinhua News Agency November 15, 2006)