News

Robust economic growth in XPCC for 2010

By Shao Wei (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-11-29 07:59

A glance of the Tianye Group of XPCC, a major contributor of local GDP. Photo courtesy of the Information Office of XPCC

URUMQI - The economic development of the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps (XPCC) has been steady in the first half of 2010, with a GDP of 20.39 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 13.1 percent.

The XPCC, founded in 1954, has administrative authority over several medium-sized cities, divisions and regimental farms all across Xinjiang.

The primary industry's GDP reached 2.12 billion yuan, an increase of 11.1 percent year on year.

In secondary industries, it was 8.84 billion yuan, an increase of 22 percent, while in tertiary industries it was 9.43 billion yuan, or a 6.5 percent increase.

XPCC's State-owned enterprises showed profits of 1.15 billion yuan in all.

Agriculture

In spite of the heavy snow fall and floods last winter and spring, XPCC's agricultural development showed good growth in the first half of 2010.

The amount of land used for spring crops was 1.05 million hectares, an increase of 0.7 percent from 2009.

The area planted in cotton was 467,513 hectares, an increase of 0.4 percent.

The area planted in grain was 266,960 hectares, or 9 percent less, with the amount of land in wheat 50.3 percent smaller than last year, at 57,333 hectares.

The summer grain output was 1.02 million tons, a decrease of 17.5 percent.

Beet production saw a year-on-year increase of 27.2 percent, tomatoes, 10.9 percent, and peppers, 24 percent.

In the first half of 2010, saw the number of the XPCC's livestock grow 13.1 percent year-on-year, or 11 percentage points higher than that for 2009 because of preferential policies.

Milk output was up 10.2 percent, eggs, 4.7 percent, and wool 20.7 percent.

Fruit production also improved, with 49,333 hectares of new orchards, 40,000 hectares of jujubes, and 6,667 hectares of grapes.

Techniques

XPCC improved its modern agriculture technology.

Cotton covered a 406,667-hectare area, or 87 percent of the total cotton growing area. Mechanized cotton covered 193,333 hectares, or 41 percent of the total XPCC area.

There were 1,251 livestock breeding areas with considerable scale of 32,000 households involved.

The livestock breeding reached 66 percent of the total breeding target in the first of 2010.

The total greenhouse area for vegetables covered 4,333 hectares.

XPCC was able to use policies that supported agriculture and benefited farmers, so that farmers got 210 million yuan in subsidies in all for the first half of 2010.

Industry

In the first half of 2010, the increased industrial value of XPCC' reached 6.82 billion yuan, for a year-on-year increase of 20.6 percent.

This was characterized by the following developments:

First, production and marketing was good. In the second quarter, industrial production fluctuations decreased, and the rate of production and sales, from April to June, was steady at around 98 percent compared with some time period.

XPCC enterprises transported 1.3 million tons of cargo out of Xinjiang, a 17.9 percent increase year-on-year.

Second, XPCC's profits were up. In the first half, industrial enterprises had profits of 1.12 billion yuan, an increase of 489 million yuan from the same 2009 period.

Seventeen XPCC industries saw a big increase in economic profits by 212 million yuan, textiles, 188 million yuan, and electric power, 114 million yuan.

Third, output of key products saw a big increase.

The production of ketchup, sugar, viscose, and four other items increased more than 50 percent. Coal, coke, cotton, cement, and three other items were up more than 20 percent.

Fourth, dominant industries did well.

Industries like foodstuff, beverages, textiles, clothing, energy, and construction had an added-value output worth 4.06 billion yuan. They accounted for 84 percent of XPCC's total added value.

Trade, tourism

In the first half, total imports and exports amounted to $2.48 billion, an increase of 22.2 percent over the same 2009 period.

Ketchup, vegetable and fruit showed robust growth.

The transport industry also developed rapidly.

The tourism industry also saw its growth recover, in the first half. The "Tulip Festival" in Wujiaqu, and the "Army Reclamation Cultural Festival" in Shihezi were high points in tourism.

Investment

In the first half, fixed assets investment in XPCC was worth 13.08 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 52.1 percent.

Fixed assets investment mainly involved three things.

First, investment in industries was up sharply, reaching 7.77 billion yuan, or 1.33 times the 2009 figure, thanks to a number of key projects.

Second, there was plenty of funding for construction projects.

Funds for this area in the first half of 2010 reached 15.5 billion yuan, an increase of 40.3 percent.

Third, work on key projects made progress. The first phase construction of a coal-fired electrical plant was completed.

Ninety-eight percent of the construction of the Xinjiang Tianye Group's PVC project was finished.

In addition, there was a cement production project in Wusu, an Yilite coke production project, and a textile project of Tiansheng Co Ltd.

Livelihood

XPCC had various preferential policies to help laid-off workers and jobless people.

By the end of June, some 34,000 new jobs were created, meeting 67.9 percent of the year's target figure.

There were 22,000 surplus rural laborers transferred, or 88 percent of the year's target.

Incomes of XPCC's city dwellers, farmers and herdsmen increased, with disposable incomes of urban residents, from January to June, reaching 7,367 yuan per capita, and increase of 10.7 percent year on year.

Per capita incomes of farmers and herdsmen reached 2,032 yuan, up 9.6 percent.

Social security coverage and other forms of insurance continued to expand.

All parts of XPCC had basic public health coverage and infectious disease prevention and control programs were started.

Culture, radio, and TV also developed rapidly, and work on a project to build 2,000 recreation and sports centers on farms began.

In addition, by the end of May, XPCC began looking at building kindergartens and nursing homes for children and the elderly on farms.

(China Daily 11/29/2010 page6)