The central Chinese government has been investing 1.3 billion yuan (about US$160 million) worth of state treasury bonds in turning wholesale markets of farmers' produce online and adding new testing facilities to these markets.

The information was learned from an ongoing national meeting on the subject held in Nanchang, capital of east China's Jiangxi Province.

The investing endeavor started in 2003 and 290 key wholesale markets of farmers' produce have been benefiting by the scheme across the country, said the information.

Serving as a bridge between farmers and the market, wholesale markets of farmers' produce are of great significance to adjusting agricultural structure, lowering cost needed for distribution, increasing farmers' income and guaranteeing food security, said the meeting.

The supporting policy of the state has enormously encouraged the society to invest more in wholesale marketplaces of farmers' produce, said the sources, citing the 290 marketplaces as examples.

Corporate investment makes up 93.4 percent of the gross investment of 16.55 billion yuan (about US$2.04 billion) for building the above-mentioned number of wholesale markets.

Thanks to the presence of T-bond investment, farmer traders on the wholesale markets now use IC cards, instead of the long-lived tradition of spot trading, to settle accounts.

(Xinhua News Agency November 16, 2005)