China's soldiers have been given a 10 percent rise in their dietary allowance as part of a range of measures to ensure they remain well fed despite soaring food prices, state press reported yesterday.
"All army units should take measures ... to offset the impact of price hikes and ensure that soldiers' living standards do not drop," a new People's Liberation Army circular said, according to the Xinhua news agency.
across the board
One measure that will apply across the board is a rise in each soldier's daily food allowance to 11 yuan (US$1.45), up from 10 yuan.
"The rise will help offset the impact of price hikes and improve food for soldiers, as military training demands a lot of energy and a strong body," said the PLA's General Logistics Department director, Liao Xilong.
Army units have also been told they can use surplus funds from previous years to ensure diets are adequate, according to Xinhua.
Soldiers, especially in remote areas such as China's southern islands, have further been encouraged to continue with a long-held policy of raising their own livestock.
Soaring food prices have been blamed for unexpectedly high inflation this year.
INFLATION RATE
China's inflation rate was 3.5 percent in the first seven months of the year and 5.6 percent in July alone, well above the government's target of 3 percent.
In July, food prices climbed 15.4 percent from a year earlier, with the cost of meat surging 45.2 percent thanks in part to a respiratory pig virus that has had a big impact on the price of pork, a staple of most Chinese diets.
The People's Liberation Army -- which also includes the air force and the navy -- has 2.3 million men and women in uniform, more than any other military in the world.
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