China's grain inventory hits a new high, National Grain Administration releases latest data

According to the website of the National Grain Administration, the Grain Administration issued a notice on October 8, requiring that the 2015 autumn grain purchase and autumn safe grain storage work be effectively carried out. The notice shows that provincial-level grain administrative departments and the branches of Sinograin should jointly organize a special inspection of autumn grain purchase, safe grain storage and safe production from mid-October to the end of November.

The Grain Administration stated that currently, China's grain inventory has reached a new high; the quantity of grain stored by various grain and oil storage enterprises is larger than ever before, and the quantity of state policy grain stored in open-air and simple storage facilities is also larger than ever before. The contradiction of insufficient warehouse capacity in major grain-producing areas is prominent, and the phenomenon of "sick warehouses storing grain" still exists in some old warehouses in certain areas; some enterprises lack safe grain storage equipment and have backward technical measures, especially in Northeast China and the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, where a considerable number of open-air and simple storage facilities have hidden dangers for safe production such as fire safety, as well as risks of condensation in autumn and mold at the top; in some areas of southern China, the grain temperature of grain stored under outdoor canopies remains persistently high, making pest and mold control difficult; due to poor sales and transfer, some grain is also stored beyond its proper period, affecting the quality and safety of stored grain. Soon all regions will again usher in the peak period of autumn grain purchase, and the task of freeing up and consolidating warehouses to prepare for purchase and ensure the implementation of the national grain purchase policy is arduous.

The notice requires that grain departments and grain enterprises in all regions effectively carry out autumn grain purchase and autumn safe grain storage work.

First, strictly implement the main responsibility of grain purchase and storage enterprises. Sinograin Corporation should strengthen internal supervision of purchase activities carried out by entrusted purchase and storage depots and externally leased warehouses, and effectively assume the main responsibility for central-authority policy grain purchase, safe storage, safe production and inventory supervision. COFCO Group, Chinatex Group and AVIC Industry Group should also strengthen the management of policy grain purchase and safe grain storage undertaken by their affiliated enterprises. Various grain storage enterprises should, in accordance with the requirement that "whoever damages the grain is responsible," fully implement the enterprise's main responsibility for safe grain storage and safe production. Effective grain preservation technical measures should be adopted for different storage forms, especially strengthening safety patrols and grain condition inspections for open-air and simple storage facilities and externally leased warehouses, promptly handling problems and hidden dangers when found, and resolutely preventing grain damage accidents and safe production accidents. They should actively cooperate with grain administrative departments in supervision and inspection of autumn grain purchase, safe grain storage and safe production inspections.

Second, effectively implement all work related to autumn grain purchase. Grain departments in all regions should intensify publicity of the national grain purchase policy, safe grain storage and safe production, promptly carry out grain sales and transfer and free up and consolidate warehouses, accelerate the construction of new granaries and the maintenance and renovation of "dangerous warehouses and old warehouses," and increase purchase and storage capacity as much as possible. In principle, traditional straw mats and reed mats should no longer be set up for newly purchased grain entering warehouses this year; safety assessments should be strengthened for newly built grain storage canopies, and newly built open-air and simple grain storage facilities need to be equipped with compliant ventilation and grain condition detection facilities and equipment. At the same time, farmers should be helped and guided in drying, sunning, cleaning and other work for new grain, strictly controlling the quality of grain entering warehouses, and preventing and eliminating hidden dangers in grain storage from the source.

Finally, make every effort to fight the "tough battle" of safe grain storage and safe production. Grain departments and grain enterprises in all regions should, in light of the actual situation of current grain purchase and storage work and the characteristics of grain storage in autumn and winter, fight the "tough battle" of safe grain storage and safe production in two stages.

In the first stage, before this year's autumn grain purchase, general surveys and rectification work for safe grain storage and safe production should be rapidly carried out. In accordance with the ownership of grain rights and management responsibilities, careful deployment should be made, classified investigations should be conducted into safe grain storage and safe production, key enterprises and key warehouse types should be identified, responsibilities should be implemented at every level, the base situation should be found out as soon as possible, a ledger of hidden dangers in safe grain storage and safe production should be established, and targeted measures should be taken one by one to solve them. In this stage, special efforts should be made to remove accumulated heat, lower grain temperature, prevent top caking and other work, and solve the problems of excessively high temperature in individual grain piles and condensation easily caused by temperature drops in autumn.

In the second stage, around the end of the year, safe grain preservation work for the winter and spring seasons should be done well. The focus should be on using the temperature difference between inside and outside in winter to carry out thorough ventilation and cooling, and necessary heat insulation and cold preservation measures should be taken to lay the foundation for safe grain preservation in the coming spring and summer. National relevant regulations and technical specification requirements should be strictly implemented, with emphasis on the two key points of open-air grain storage and leased-warehouse grain storage, and necessary on-site training should be organized at different levels according to the characteristics of grain storage and operations in the two stages; relevant grain research institutes and universities should actively provide technical guidance and support.

The notice also requires solidly carrying out special inspections of autumn grain purchase, safe grain storage and safe production. Provincial-level grain administrative departments and the branches of Sinograin should jointly organize a special inspection of autumn grain purchase, safe grain storage and safe production from mid-October to the end of November.