AFX News Limited
BEIJING (AFX-ASIA) - China is irreversibly moving towards a freer farm produce market, and will have to further adapt its agricultural polices after it joins the World Trade Organisation (WTO), a senior agriculture official said yesterday, according to the official Xinhua news agency.
Zhang Hongyu, a senior official of the Ministry of Agriculture, said that in recent years, China has adopted a policy to promote the free trade of agricultural products in domestic markets.
All farm produce, except grains, are allowed to be traded freely, Zhang said.
The government has decided to further lessen control on trade and prices of grains, which will help the establishment of a freer market.
Zhang said that China will, after joining the WTO, import more wheat, corn, rice, soybean, cotton and oil seeds due to their higher prices on the domestic market.
The entry will also cause two profound changes in China's agricultural product trading policies, according to Zhang.
Under the first, more non-governmental enterprises will engage in the business of agricultural product circulation, especially in grain trading and distribution.
Secondly, there will be changes in the grain production pattern as grain output in north and central China will be used to supply the west, and part of the grain demand of southeast China will be satisfied through imports.
Copyright 2001 AFX News Limited. All Rights Reserved.:
