Government and Policy

China stresses supply of fertilizers for spring farming

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2011-02-07 12:44

BEIJING - The Chinese central government has ordered local authorities to secure the production and supply of fertilizers for the coming spring farming season as part of the efforts to stabilize prices.

Local government departments must guarantee the supply of electricity and raw materials to fertilizer producers and continue preferential policies for the circulation of fertilizers to stabilize their prices, according to a joint statement by nine ministries of the central government.

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Power rationing should not be applied to fertilizer-producing enterprises and energy supply of oil and natural gas to those companies should be ensured, according to the statement.

"It's important to guarantee the supply of fertilizers to boost grain output in the country, thus laying a solid foundation to stabilize the prices of farm produces and manage the inflationary expectation this ?year," said the statement.

Although China's grain output rose 2.9 percent year on year in 2010 to 546.41 million tonnes, the current months-long drought in major wheat-growing regions in the north has sparked concerns over its impact on agricultural production and further inflation.

The consumer price index (CPI), the main gauge of inflation, rose 4.6 percent year on year in China in December and was up 3.3 percent for the full year in 2010, mainly due to soaring food prices, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

The prices of food, which accounts for a third of the basket of goods in China's CPI calculation, surged 7.2 percent year on year in 2010, according to the NBS.