Farmers' grain-trading permits not in line with market reforms

THE LOCAL COURT IN BAYANNAOER CITY, Northern China's Inner Mongolia autonomous region, found a farmer guilty of purchasing large quantities of corn without the necessary State permit. We are building a market economy and the old, outdated State monopoly over grain trade should be abandoned, says Beijing News:

What law has the farmer broken? A 2004 regulation on the trade in grain, issued by the State Council, China's Cabinet, said that only those who have a State permit are allowed to purchase grain for commercial use.

It should be noted that this is against the principle of market-oriented reform. Since 1978, China has been trying to break State monopolies and simplify administrative procedures, but the State permit required to buy and sell grain is contrary to that.