China extends interest subsidy period on loans for dairy producers

China's dairy manufacturers will see an extension of the period for subsidies on loan interest payments until the end of this year, said the Ministry of Finance in a statement on Monday (Jul 27).

 

The interest subsidies were originally extended from October to December 2008 and then stretched to the end of March this year. The period would be lengthened again retroactively from March to the end of this year, according to the statement.

 

The statement added that the subsidies would still be used to cover 3.105 percent of interest. This scheme covers loans used by dairy companies to buy milk from farms.

 

Meanwhile, the ministry did not reveal the cost of the interest subsidy, which was launched to support dairy producers following last year's melamine-tainted milk scandal that devastated China's dairy industry.