The Agricultural Development Bank of China has asked its branches to provide loans for the development of agriculture-related companies, according to a notice released by the bank.

The bank said in the notice that it will prioritize loans to large companies engaged in production, processing and marketing of grain, cotton, and edible oil products.

It urged its branches to choose key state- and provincial-level companies in this sector and rigidly enforce the checkup and approval procedures before granting loans.

Large companies could help merge small farmers, sharpening the competitive edge of China's agricultural internationally, the notice said.

In 2002, the Agricultural Bank of China launched a specialized loaning item supporting agriculture companies. In 2003, the bank provided a total of 39.9 billion yuan of loans in this sector.

The State Development Bank also provided more than 1 billion yuan of specialized loans to vegetable and poultry export companies which were hit severely during the outbreak of SARS lastyear.

China has 580 key agriculture-related companies at the state-level and more than 2,000 at provincial level. One-third are engaged in cotton, grain and edible oil production.

Source: Xinhua