China's township enterprises generated 6.8 trillion yuan (US$944.4 billion) in value-added output in 2007, a growth of 14.06 percent over the previous year, according to latest data provided by the Ministry of Agriculture.

Of the total, major enterprises (with an annual sales volume of five million yuan each) made up 3.37 trillion yuan, or 70.62 percent. Their combined added value went up 16.72 percent over the year-earlier level.

The total added value also included 1.06 trillion yuan realized from processing of farm produce, up 16.42 percent. Sources with the ministry said affected by a decline in exports and raised threshold for market access at home, the growth in farm produce processing slowed down more or less in the second half of last year.

Currently nearly 160,000 township enterprises nationwide are authorized to do export, up more than 5,000 from a year earlier, the sources said.

(Xinhua News Agency February 9, 2008)