Regulations revised on exclusive selling rights for salt

The State Council issued a newly revised regulation on the exclusive selling rights for salt as a State Council decree was signed by Premier Li Keqiang. The new regulation emphasized enhancing administration over edible salt and also guaranteeing its quality and supply security to safeguard people’s health. It was made clear that the salt monopoly administration belongs to the State, and edible salt refers to salt that can be eaten directly and used in food processing. The new regulation will be applied to any activity concerning the production, sales and reserves of edible salt in China’s territory. As China implements a system where only designated companies can produce or wholesale edible salt, other companies are forbidden to do so, the decree noted. Provincial-level governments’ salt administration departments should designate production or wholesale companies according to a unified plan, issue certificates to these companies, publicly release the list of companies in a timely manner, and inform the State Council for filing purposes.