China to reform supply and marketing cooperatives

The staff displays some goods in a supply and marketing cooperatives in Central China's Henan province, Oct 9, 2014. [Photo/CFP]

BEIJING - China plans to overhaul rural supply and marketing cooperatives to make them better serve their regions, according to a decision by central authorities.

The decision, made by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council, was made public on Thursday.

Reform will include expanding the cooperatives' business scope and serving the whole agricultural sector.

The central authorities also urged local cooperatives to innovate management and improve efficiency.

Vice Premier Wang Yang said on Thursday that the cooperatives must prioritize services for farmers. He encouraged local cooperatives to cooperate with farmers and emerging agricultural firms in areas such as employment, capital, and land.

China's supply and marketing cooperatives have been a key platform for the distribution of agricultural products in rural areas in the past decades.

Data showed the combined sales volume of China's supply and marketing cooperatives stood at 3.76 trillion yuan ($612.4 billion) last year while profits hit 35.4 billion yuan.