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Subsidies boost rural home appliance sales

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-06-15 21:37

BEIJING - Sales of home appliances under a rural subsidy program for farmers jumped 42 percent in May from April, a government official said Monday.

Yao Jian, spokesman of the Ministry of Commerce (MOC), said 2.23 million appliances were sold in May.

Related readings:  Subsidized home appliances sales grow 70% month-on-month  Home appliances going green  Computer, home appliances profits grow five-fold

The MOC said in March that the central government had allocated 20 billion yuan (about US$2.9 billion) for the subsidy program this year, which would help increase household appliance sales by more than 100 billion yuan.

The State Council, or Cabinet, approved a home appliance replacement plan on June 1, which allocated 2 billion yuan to encourage home appliance upgrades in nine pilot cities, including Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai and Changsha. This was intended as a fresh move to spur domestic consumption.

Buyers would receive a subsidy equivalent to 10 percent of the retail price of new appliances including TVs, refrigerators, washing machines, air conditioners and computers, according to the plan.