Township Firms to Get New RoleExperts and officials attending an agricultural seminar in Beijing Wednesday called for the country's township enterprises to expand the farm-produce processing industry.China has 350,000 township and village-run enterprises engaged in agricultural and sideline products processing, which represent a mere 1.75 percent of the country's total township firms, but account for a quarter of the sector's annual output, according to official statistics. "As the State-owned enterprises began to withdraw from the agricultural produce processing sector, township firms should rush to fill the vacuum," said Chen Jianguang from the agricultural ministry. Township enterprises have the advantage and ability to focus on agricultural and sideline products processing, packaging and circulation, he added. By developing the agricultural and sideline produce processing sector, China will be able to readjust its agricultural structure faster, and the difficulty farmers have in selling their products may be resolved, officials and experts said at the seminar, adding that rural residents' income would also be significantly raised. The Ministry of Agriculture has decided to optimize township enterprise structure by encouraging more firms to undertake farm and sideline products processing, according to Chen. |
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