BEIJING, May 5 (Xinhua) -- China is to shake up the state monopoly on production and sale of table salt, dismantling a system that has been in place for more than 2,000 years.

Salt producers will be able to determine their own production scale and market salt directly, rather than selling only to state distributors, while price controls will be scraped from 2017, according to a statement by the State Council on Thursday.

China's state control over the salt sector reportedly began around the seventh century BC.

Under current system, Chinese companies are licensed to produce and distribute table salt and operate under a national quota scheme.

According to Thursday's statement, the government will not approve new producers and wholesalers in the business, but encourage existent entities to reorganize through mergers and acquisitions, drawing in private capital.

It said under emergency circumstances, the government will intervene to ease price fluctuations while official and enterprise reserves will be released to ensure a stable supply.