Beijing to boost prices for grain reserve purchases

Beijing will raise substantially the price it pays for various grains for its national reserves in the latest move to narrow the income gap between its urban and rural residents, the South China Morning Post reported. The policies, announced Monday by the National Development and Reform Commission, will also see the government boost investment in food productivity, with the goal of raising grain production capacity by 50 million tons between 2009 and 2020. Investment would focus on irrigation, energy, transport and drinking water. China’s northeast will be developed into a soybean production base, the Yangtze River area would concentrate on rapeseed production and Xinjiang would be China’s cotton center. Farmers will also receive subsidies to cover fertilizer and equipment expenses. China earlier announced it intended to double rural incomes by 2020.