Home appliance sales in rural China up 66% in Nov

BEIJING - Home appliance sales in China's rural areas rose 65.8 percent year-on-year to reach 29.8 billion yuan ($4.66 billion) in November, the Ministry of Commerce said Thursday.

The total number of appliances sold increased 44 percent from a year earlier to hit 11.15 million units, the ministry said in a statement on its website.

Chinese farmers received subsidies for the purchase of home appliances after the government introduced a program in February 2009 to spur rural consumption.

From January to November, sales of home appliances added up to 210 million units, valued at 487.4 billion yuan, with accumulated subsidies from the government valued at 55.6 billion yuan, the statement said.