The Heilongjiang Price Supervision and Administration Bureau (HPSAB) has issued an order scraping salt price controls, with the new policy starting on Jan 1, 2017.

Salt companies are currently allowed to set the price based on many factors, including cost of production and management.

The new rules scrap all current regulations related to the control of salt prices.

In accordance with the relevant Chinese policies, Heilongjiang will scrap controls on both the wholesale and retail prices for salt.

Salt companies will have to establish a complete salt reserve system and formulate emergency plans to ensure the stable supply of salt.

Salt prices will fluctuate since many brands of salt will enter the Heilongjiang market, according to senior officials from Heilongjiang Salt Industry Group.

The HPSAB has called for all cities and counties to enhance the supervision of salt prices and take measures to keep salt price fluctuations to a minimum.