Farm machinery exports up 50% in 2007

China exported more than 4 billion U.S. dollars of farm machinery in 2007, an increase of 50 percent year on year, an industry association said here on Wednesday.

Output value of the country's farm machinery industry totaled 150 billion yuan (about 20.7 billion U.S. dollars), up 18 percent year on year, said China Association of Agricultural Machinery Manufacturers Chairman Gao Yuanen.

Net profit for the industry hit 7 billion yuan in 2007, an increase of 38 percent year on year, he said.

China's huge farm machinery market attracted machinery giants from Italy, the Republic of Korea and the United States, among others.

With government subsidies for purchasing, the country's agricultural machinery industry has developed at an annual rate of 30 percent from 2004 to 2006.