Policy support urgently needed for the industrialization of potatoes as a staple food

At the beginning of this year, the Ministry of Agriculture announced that China would make a major push to develop potatoes as a staple food, gradually making them the fourth largest staple crop, with more than 50% of potatoes expected to be consumed as a staple food by 2020. Once this information came out, it was welcomed by the industry.

Recently, reporters learned during interviews at the Second China Potato Farm Owners Conference that some growers said they would increase their planting area, and some processing enterprises and agricultural input enterprises have also been making strategic arrangements. But some growers, processing enterprises and agricultural input enterprises are still waiting and watching. Attendees are eagerly awaiting the introduction of relevant policies to solidly advance the sustained and healthy development of potato staple food products and the industry. They called on the state to introduce support policies for subsidies in all links of the potato industry, minimum protective price purchasing, post-harvest collection and storage, and commercial handling:

First, fair and reasonable subsidy support for all links of the potato industry. Yu Jinhai, chairman of the Yuwan Potato Planting Professional Cooperative in Yunmeng County, Hubei Province, said that the cooperative has planted more than 10,000 mu of potatoes, but currently has not received subsidies for improved potato varieties; if the state had subsidy policy support, the planting area would be expanded further. Zhang Xiaowei, senior business manager of Hohhot Huaou Starch Products Co., Ltd., introduced that the starch produced by the company is not only sold in the domestic market but also exported abroad. Because China has relatively few subsidies for the potato industry, it has no price competitive advantage in the international market. European countries, by contrast, provide especially large subsidies for the potato industry, with subsidies at every link of planting, processing, collection and storage, and sales; if China increased the intensity of subsidies for the potato industry, the industry would develop very quickly. Zhou Qingfeng, vice president of the China Starch Industry Association and president of the China Potato Starch Association, believes that support policies for the potato industry currently exist, but they are not universal. Support for the industry should be fair and reasonable, and must cover the whole country at the national level, openly and transparently; otherwise, it can easily disrupt the market instead. Li Jinfu, director of the Dingxi Potato Research Institute, holds the same view.

Second, implement minimum protective price purchasing for fresh potatoes. Yang Yinghui, director of the Technology Development and Training Division of the Ministry of Agriculture's Quality Agricultural Products Development Service Center, believes that minimum protective price purchasing policies should also be implemented for potatoes just as for other grains. Affected by multiple factors such as the overall economic situation, a bumper potato harvest and weather conditions, potato prices across China have remained persistently low since the autumn of 2014, with the price per jin once falling below 0.2 yuan. At present, judging from market conditions, there is still no sign of improvement in potato prices at the production areas, and the vast number of potato farmers face losses, which has affected their enthusiasm to continue planting. If there were a minimum protective price purchasing policy just as for other grains, it could protect potato farmers' enthusiasm for planting.

Third, support the collection and storage of fresh potatoes and their processed products. In the view of Yun Ting, chairman of Inner Mongolia Zhengfeng Potato Seed Industry Co., Ltd., fresh potatoes can be stored for at most 8 months, while if storage conditions are suitable, whole potato flour can be stored for 30 years and starch for 70 years, longer than the factory release period of other grains, and can be taken out whenever needed. However, processing and storage enterprises need considerable capital costs to purchase raw materials, store and process them. The state should focus on supporting potato processing enterprises and introduce collection and storage policies for starch and whole flour just as for other grains, to raise the enthusiasm of processing enterprises. In this way, potatoes from bumper harvests will have a market, the processing industry will develop steadily, and the market will be stable; otherwise, the market is prone to sharp fluctuations.

Fourth, carry out scientific and reasonable planning at the national level for seed potato and commercial potato production areas. Li Wengang, chief potato expert of the Inner Mongolia Academy of Agriculture and Animal Husbandry Sciences, believes that the state should increase support for the post-harvest commercial handling of potatoes. In addition, many places that are not suitable for breeding seed potatoes are also breeding seed potatoes at present, affecting the quality of commercial potatoes. The state should plan at the macro strategic level, integrate resources in potato production areas, and rationally distribute seed potato and commercial potato regions, thereby improving product quality.

In short, the state's launch of the potato staple food strategy is good news for major potato-producing provinces and the industry. This enthusiasm should be well guided, and corresponding support policies for potatoes should be formulated and introduced by reference to other grain crops. If the market is left to regulate itself, industry enthusiasm will quickly fade, the industry will not develop well, and this will not be conducive to advancing the staple food strategy.