Guangxi faces 'sweet challenge' in 50th year

Farmers in the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region have begun feeling the pinch of the global financial crisis as commodity prices fall amid oversupply of products.

Guo Shengkun, Party chief of the region, yesterday said the falling sugar prices have hurt a large number of farmers who grow sugarcane.

The region is home to about 13 million farmers whose livelihood depends on sugarcane. Its annual sugar output is about 10 million tons, more than half of the country's total.