The National Development and Reform Commission set the minimum procurement prices for 2017 paddy crops at levels slightly down from those in 2016 (Commodity policy developments archive).The price for early Indica paddy has been lowered to CNY 2 600 (USD 379) per tonne, 2 percent lower than in 2016. The procurement price for late/intermediate Indica was set at CNY 2 720 (USD 396) per tonne and for Japonica at CNY 3 000 (USD 437) per tonne, 1 and 3 percent lower than in 2016, respectively. The Government sets the purchase prices in order to protect farmers’ interests after considering production costs, market supply and demand, as well as prices in both domestic and international markets, among other factors.