Premier Wen at the meeting for reform of grain circulation system

Premier Wen Jiabao has listed liberalization of grain trading and pricing and offering subsidies to grain growers as among China's priority tasks for reforming its grain distributing system.

Addressing a two-day national meeting that ended Tuesday in Beijing, Wen said it is high time for the country to liberalize grain trading in major grain-producing areas, and efforts should be madeto improve the grain pricing mechanism and set up a unified, national, open, and competitive grain market.

Beginning this year, China would introduce a system across the country to offer subsidies directly to grain growers in leading grain-producing areas in order to encourage them to produce more grain, the premier noted.

The reform must give scope to a positive role in encouraging grain production, increasing farmers' income, stabilizing the grain market, and safeguarding national food security.

He told the meeting the State-owned grain dealers should restructure their operating system, and continue to play a vital role as China's major grain distributing channel after the proposed liberalization of grain dealing and pricing.

The Chinese premier also urged the State-owned grain companies,many of them ill-managed and money-losing, to improve market competitiveness.

China will further improve its capability to regulate the grainmarket so as to ensure food security through protecting and increasing its grain producing capability, and improving the role of the national and provincial grain reserve systems, added the premier.

He said China will establish a mechanism to ensure basic balances between grain supply and demand for medium and long-term periods as well as a market early-warning system, and institute a long-term and stable cooperative relationship between the country's leading grain-producing areas and areas that buy grain in large quantities from other areas.

Vice-Premier Zeng Peiyan and Vice-Premier Hui Liangyu were among those attending the meeting, which involved leading provincial municipal and autonomous regional officials.