NDRC changes policy for salt monopany  

广东省盐务局:取消食盐专营是误解 实则审批下放

(Photo source: Yangcheng Evening News)

(ECNS) – China's National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) announced Monday that it would revoke a rule allowing exclusive rights to produce and sell table salt.

The China National Salt Industry Corp., the exclusive table salt dealer in China, said annulment of the rule was only to delegate powers to lower levels, rather than abolish the monopoly policy, according to china.com.cn.

The China Salt Association also said that the state monopoly of table salt had not been changed.

Nevertheless, the statement brings China National Salt under scrutiny again for abusing its monopoly privilege to make exorbitant profits.

Earlier reports said that the NDRC and provincial Price Control Bureaus had set table salt's ex-factory price at 300 to 500 yuan per ton, compared to the retail price of roughly 2,600 yuan per ton sold by China National Salt. Meanwhile, industrial salt, which has been relieved from monopoly control, has been sold for 500 to 600 yuan per ton.

Sun Jin, a professor of competition law and policies at Wuhan University, said China National Salt purchases salt at low prices from producers, but pushes the market price up to make monopoly profits.

"The salt monopoly was created around the ideas of food safety and strategic reserve, but in practice the policy has been misapplied," Sun said.

The company has also been accused of hampering reforms of the salt sector. Chen Guowei, a supervisor at China's State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission, said in 2009 that reform had been obstructed by the company.

Sun said that even though the table salt sector isn't yet open to public capital, the annulment of the rule might be a turning point for future reform.