Directive on the Report Transmitted by the Central Financial and Economic Commission Concerning the Experience of the All-China Federation of Cooperatives in Purchasing Cotton
(December 24, 1951)

Central Financial and Economic Commission:
I consider the report of the All-China Federation of Cooperatives dated December 19, 1951 [1] to be correct in principle. The Federation of Cooperatives proposes that the state entrust the cooperatives with the purchasing of both cotton and grain, two types of agricultural products. Regarding cotton, in 1952, it should be entirely entrusted to the cooperatives for purchase, changing from the three parties to the cooperatives as the single party. This is already beyond doubt and requires no further elaboration. As for grain, of the nearly 20 billion jin of commodity grain to be purchased by the state in 1952, it seems that all or the greater part should be entrusted to the cooperatives according to their organizational capacity. As for the remaining approximately 30 billion jin of commodity grain currently purchased by merchants or transported and sold by peasants themselves in towns and cities, it is not yet appropriate for the cooperatives to handle its purchase in 1952. Firstly, this would squeeze out the merchants too quickly, and secondly, the cooperatives probably lack the capacity to do so at present. This plan should be gradually implemented over several years. If within three to four years, 80 percent of all commodity grain could be purchased by the cooperatives, that would be very good. Please study this matter and devise an appropriate plan to be submitted to the Central Committee for review and decision.

Mao Zedong
December 24

Based on the manuscript.

Note
[1] The report of the All-China Federation of Cooperatives summarized the initial experience of undertaking full responsibility for purchasing cotton in 1951, proposing to change the old method of purchasing cotton through three parties—the Cotton Yarn and Cloth Company, the cooperatives, and private merchants—and implement a new method of purchasing cotton solely through the cooperatives.