Let’s take one of these – the transportation subsidy. Transport has been a major barrier to efficient markets in both China and Africa. From 2003-2010, China’s $1 billion of annual spending on this type of subsidy made it 50% cheaper to carry fertilizer than other goods. In contrast, with the highest fertilizer transportation costs in the world, African countries face huge difficulties moving fertilizer across the continent. In Uganda, where fertilizer transportation costs are painstakingly high, a recent study suggested that only farmers living close to the Kenyan border were able to use fertilizers.