NE China Province to Crack Down on Illegal Salt TradeLiaoning Province in northeast China plans to launch a campaign to crack down on illegal salt businesses in order to regulate the local salt market, said Vice Governor Guo Tingbiao Thursday.In China, salt is monopolized by the government, but in recent years, a large number of unlicensed small salt fields have mushroomed in Liaoning and smuggled salt is sold in large quantities in local shops, according to the official. Currently, Liaoning has five state-run salt fields, but the number of illegal producers stands at 103 which produce 300,000 tons a year. Meanwhile 40,000 to 50,000 tons more salt is smuggled into the local market through other channels. The government will force unlicensed salt fields to withdraw from the business, if they could not be qualified or turn to produce industrial salt. Moreover, the province will strengthen official control over the licensed transportation of salt. Liaoning, one of the major salt producers in the country, turns out 2.73 million tons a year. |
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