China seizes $278 mln worth of fake farm materials in 2007

Chinese authorities seized 2.03 billion yuan (278 million U.S. dollars) worth of counterfeit agricultural production materials last year, the Ministry of Agriculture said Friday.

"The market order is improving," the ministry said in a notice. By comparison, seizures in 2006 amounted to 2.28 billion yuan.

The nationwide crackdown for 2007, which began in last February, investigated more than 59,000 related cases and defended the interests of hundreds of millions farmers, the ministry said.

The crackdown largely centered on fake fertilizer, pesticides and seed during spring and autumn, it said.

To better product quality, the government also launched a four-month campaign in August where 875.8 tons of banned pesticides were confiscated and destroyed, it said.