Business

China sets 2014 cotton price

China's top economic planning body on Saturday set a 2014 target price of 19,800 yuan (US$ 3,200) per tonne for cotton. The target price was set based on production cost and basic returns, the National Development and Reform Commission said on its website.

Farmers can sell cotton at market prices and will receive subsidies from the government if market prices fall below the target price, the commission added.

Beijing scrapped its controversial cotton stockpiling policy this year and switched to direct subsidies for farmers. The stockpiling policy pushed up domestic cotton prices much higher than global prices, making it cheaper for Chinese mills to import cotton grown abroad than to buy domestic produce.