Sales of home appliances under a rural subsidy program for farmers jumped 42% in May from April, a government official said Monday.
Yao Jian, spokesman of the Ministry of Commerce (MOC), said 2.23 million appliances were sold in May.
The MOC said in March that the central government had allocated RMB 20 billion yuan (about $2.9 billion) for the subsidy program this year, which would help increase household appliance sales by more than 100 billion yuan.
The State Council approved a home appliance replacement plan on June 1, which allocated RMB 2 billion to encourage home appliance upgrades in nine pilot cities, including Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai and Changsha. This was intended as a fresh move to spur domestic consumption.
China View reports that buyers receive a subsidy equivalent to 10% of the retail price of new appliances including TVs, refrigerators, washing machines, air conditioners and computers.