Per capita disposable income for households in rural Shanghai in the first quarter of this year was 3,152 yuan (about US$380), up 6.7 percent from the same period last year, according to surveys.
The increase is the highest of the last five years, said an economist with the Shanghai Municipal Team for Surveys of Rural Economies, which conducted the surveys.
According to the economist, the economic development in Shanghai's suburbs has entered into a period of steady growth.
He said the per capita disposable income of local farmers exceeded 6,000 yuan (about US$723) last year.
(Xinhua News Agency May 2, 2003)