China's national autumn and winter grain area is expected to increase by more than 1.3 million mu in 2015
Pan Wenbo, deputy director of the Planting Industry Management Department of China's Ministry of Agriculture, said in Beijing on the 19th that China's 2015 autumn and winter grain planting work is progressing smoothly, and the autumn and winter grain area is expected to increase by more than 1.3 million mu this year, with the foundation for next year's summer grain production looking good.
On the same day, China's National Development and Reform Commission, together with the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Agriculture, the National Food Administration, the Agricultural Development Bank of China and China Grain Reserves Corporation, jointly held a media briefing to present relevant information on China's current grain-related policies.
“At present, autumn and winter planting is nearing its end, and judging from the Ministry of Agriculture's scheduling, progress is smooth and the foundation is relatively good.” Pan Wenbo further stated that because this year's autumn and winter sowing work was carried out early, the rate of implementation of measures was high, and sowing quality was good, and in addition most regions have good soil moisture, with a large area sown at suitable moisture and suitable time, wheat seedlings have emerged evenly, which will lay a solid foundation for next year's summer grain production.
However, China's grain production is not entirely without hidden concerns at present. Pan Wenbo said that because the El Nino phenomenon that occurred since May 2014 has continued to develop and has now strengthened into the strongest El Nino phenomenon since the beginning of the new century, the probability of a warm winter in China this year has increased, and winter drought and excessive growth may occur, which could have a certain negative impact on grain production.
At the same time, affected by factors such as slowing growth in domestic and international consumer demand and the impact of imports of substitute products, China has seen a situation of corn supply exceeding demand, which has gradually evolved into a prominent problem in China's current grain and agricultural production development.
“Ensuring the effective supply of grain and other agricultural products is the fundamental task of agriculture, and adjusting and optimizing the agricultural structure is also an important task of agriculture.” Pan Wenbo said that the Ministry of Agriculture is currently actively advancing agricultural structural adjustment, and this year has arranged 300 million yuan in funding to select 30 counties in Northeast China, North China and Northwest China to carry out a “grain-to-feed” pilot to promote the integration of farming and animal husbandry. Next year, corn planting will also be reduced by more than 10 million mu in some regions, especially Northeast China.
In addition, while grain production has seen consecutive bumper harvests, China's consumption growth has slowed markedly. Although total supply and demand are basically balanced, prominent contradictions in variety structure have created relatively large downward pressure on China's domestic grain prices. Zhou Guanhua, director of the Regulation Department of the National Food Administration, said in response that relevant departments have already taken measures such as promptly initiating procurement and storage to guide stable market expectations, and China's domestic grain market and prices are now tending toward stability.