Farmers will be given subsidies for buying household electric appliances in a bid to stimulate sluggish consumption in rural areas and reduce a rising trade surplus, officials said over the weekend.

A pilot phase of the plan will be carried out in the three major agricultural provinces of Shandong, Henan and Sichuan - farmers who buy color TV sets, refrigerators and mobile phones can get 13 percent of their purchases subsidized, the Ministry of Finance said on Saturday.

A total of 197 types of the three categories of appliances specially made for the rural market will be available till May next year, with air-conditioners and washing machines included in the future, ministry official Zeng Xiaoan said.

So far, the government has signed cooperative agreements with 15 household appliance makers - including Haier, Hisense and Changhong -- and 21 dealers.

"The move is meant to give farmers more benefits and divert more government expenditure to the consum...

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