China will open up its salt market beginning next year, the state planning agency said on Sunday, in the government's latest step to shake up an ancient government salt monopoly.
Starting on January 1, 2017, China will open edible salt markets with producers determining retail and wholesale prices based on factors such as production costs, salt quality, supply and demand, the National Development and Reform Commission said in a statement on its website.
The agency also said that under "special circumstances" regulators could take temporary or emergency measures to maintain edible salt price stability and "prevent abnormal fluctuations in price."