The number of commodities covered by this UPMS expanded quickly
in the following years: cotton was included in July 1954, pork in January
1955, and tobacco, tea and another dozen agricultural commodities in
October 1956. In 1957, the UPMS was further extended to cover fruits
and herbal medicine. In 1961, the government formally separated all
agricultural products into three categories which were governed by
different purchase and marketing policies. The first category contained
grain, cotton and edible oil, which were governed by a unified purchase
policy (Tong Ge). The second category included other important consumption
goods, raw materials for industrial production and infrastructural
construction and agricultural products for export. The second
category was regulated by the so-called designated purchase policy (Pai
Ge). All other agricultural products were included in the third category
and purchased by the state at negotiated prices (Yi Ge). Free markets
were strictly prohibited for the first category and allowed to operate for
the second category only after fulfilment of state purchase quotas. In
practice, there was no significant difference between policies for the first
two categories. Prices for the third category were, according to the
policy, to be determined between farmers and the state. But, in practice,
farmers never had a say in price determination.