Food Security and Pollutant Reduction Included in Spurring Package for Light Industry  

To manage the challenges in the light industry, China's authoritative departments have drawn a spurring package draft that is subject to other governmental departments. The draft includes targets for the period of 2009-2011 - production growing 10% annually; exports increasing 8% annually; 3 million new jobs and reducing major pollutants by 10% - 12% for the whole industry.
   In China the light industry is defined to include clothes, foodstuffs, house appliances, papermaking, plastics processing, leather, minmetals, battery, lighting instruments, washing agents, and related equipments.
   Under the draft, the most important issues involve the energy conservation and pollutants reduction. Any technologies, equipment and products those consume energy highly or can not reach the requirement of environmental protection or operate with an outdated technology will be constrained or eliminated. This measure is aimed to control capacity surplus, increase environmental protection input and lift competitiveness in global markets.
   It is difficult to promote energy conservation and pollutants reduction in this industry, sighed an expert who participated in the drawing of the draft. For instance, all the regional governments do not hope to compress and control their papermaking sub-industry that always contributes a great share to regional GDP but has been bringing heavy pollution. An expert estimated that the papermaking sector may share 2.3% in the nation's total domestic production. The actual target for spurring the papermaking sector is to realize all discharges meeting the national requirement. Here the national requirement refers to the Standard for Water Pollutant Emission in the Pulp and Paper Making Industry (GB 3544-2008) that was issued in June 2008 (CCR2008 No.20) and effective August 1st, 2008. From May 1st, 2009 all existing papermaking firms will be required to reach this standard that will be the strictest discharge standard worldwide, the expert judged. The related firms shall manage their actions amid economic cost, pollutant control technologies and penetration.
   Regarding to clean production in the graft, the foodstuff sector is required to reduce emission of waste water by 755 million tons per year, the battery sector shall annually cut mercury emission by 98 tons, and the leather sector will reduce 15 million tons of waste water.
   The foodstuff security problem, recently focused by the public, is highlighted in the graft. The administration, as described in the graft, will strengthen supervise on the safety indexes of foodstuff, including supervision, control and inspection on the residues of pesticides, drugs and heavy metals in foodstuff products and their raw materials.