Over 80% of China's agricultural wholesale markets lack supply and demand information

Opaque supply and demand relationships and incomplete information on agricultural product circulation directly affect farmers' incomes. Zhang Yuxi, a member of the China Economic and Social Council and chairman of Beijing Xinfadi Group, said recently at the 2015 China Economic and Social Forum held in Tianjin that survey results on supply information from China's agricultural product wholesale markets show that over 80% of agricultural product wholesale markets do not provide supply and demand information or price indices, and "incomplete information on agricultural product circulation directly affects farmers' incomes."

According to a Beijing Business Today reporter, since the household contract responsibility system was implemented in the 1980s, Chinese farmers have mostly engaged in decentralized operations. Zhang Yuxi believes that government services and guidance for agricultural production are clearly insufficient, with some places even in a state of laissez-faire, causing many places to rely mainly on traditional methods to obtain agricultural production information: "Whatever the neighbors plant, I plant; everyone rushes in together and rushes out together. Structural shortages and structural surpluses repeatedly appear in the market for agricultural products, which has dampened farmers' enthusiasm for farming."

It is reported that the state has consistently encouraged local governments to build agricultural product circulation networks. In November last year, the General Office of the State Council issued the "Several Opinions on Promoting the Healthy Development of Domestic Trade Circulation," which pointed out the need to support the construction of a national backbone network for cross-regional circulation of agricultural products. In May this year, the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Commerce decided to select and support some provinces and cities in carrying out pilot construction of a national backbone network for agricultural product circulation, guiding pilot markets to "strengthen information platforms in light of actual conditions" and other public service facility construction. Zhang Yuxi introduced that China has more than 4,600 agricultural product wholesale markets, but circulation price information is incomplete, and no price information network has been formed. Relevant surveys show that markets nationwide that do not provide supply and demand information or price indices account for about 88.6%. Zhang Yuxi suggested that government departments at all levels should build agricultural product inspection centers and agricultural product information circulation traceability centers, and encourage, support, and urge first-tier agricultural product wholesale markets in all regions to establish agricultural product supply and demand information and price indices.