The regional layout of commercial grass production has been initially established in China

Commercial grass refers to products such as hay, hay bales, grass meal, and grass pellets that enter the circulation sector. In recent years, under the dual influence of government dairy support policies and market demand, China's dairy cattle farming industry has developed rapidly, and both herd size and farming technology have greatly improved. In particular, demand for commercial grasses such as alfalfa (Medicago sativa), Leymus chinensis, and oats has also grown rapidly, and the national regional layout of commercial grass production has been initially established.

I. Basic situation of commercial grass production

(i) Overall national situation

In 2013, the national planted area for commercial grass production was 47.67 million mu, a year-on-year increase of 173.18%; the national total output of commercial grass was 9.2457 million tons, a year-on-year increase of 15.58%. In 2013, total sales of commercial grass were 6.2215 million tons.

The forage species with the largest commercial grass production area was Leymus chinensis, with a production area of 39.3771 million mu, total output of 2.5751 million tons, and sales of 863,100 tons. Next was alfalfa (Medicago sativa), with a production area of 5.81 million mu, total output of 3.4362 million tons, and sales of 3.412 million tons. After that came green feed and silage corn, with a production area of 1.6 million mu, total output of 2.573 million tons, and sales of 1.442 million tons. The main commercial grass producing provinces (regions) are Gansu Province, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, Heilongjiang Province, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, and others.

(ii) Commercial grass production in pastoral and semi-pastoral areas

In 2013, in 268 pastoral and semi-pastoral areas (counties), the commercial grass production area was 40.477 million mu, total output was 3.4669 million tons, and sales were 1.4695 million tons, accounting for 84.91%, 37.5%, and 23.63% of the national total, respectively, with year-on-year increases of 287.37%, 94.28%, and 19%. The main types were Leymus chinensis and alfalfa (Medicago sativa), with areas of 38.477 million mu and 1.697 million mu, outputs of 2.4969 million tons and 772,000 tons, and sales of 848,500 tons and 551,800 tons, respectively.

In 160 semi-pastoral areas (counties), the commercial grass production area was 11.71 million mu, total output was 1.597 million tons, and sales were 998,000 tons, accounting for 55.7%, 20.3%, and 16.6% of the national total, respectively, with year-on-year increases of 27.9%, 19.2%, and 5.1%. The main production areas are distributed in the semi-pastoral areas (counties) of Heilongjiang, Jilin, and Inner Mongolia, with production areas of 5.855 million mu, 4.6 million mu, and 681,000 mu, respectively.

In 108 pastoral areas (counties), the commercial grass production area was 28.73 million mu, total output was 1.8531 million tons, and sales were 465,600 tons, accounting for 60.27%, 20.04%, and 7.48% of the national total, respectively, with year-on-year increases of 324.07%, 750.46%, and 384.15%. The main production areas are distributed in the pastoral areas (counties) of Inner Mongolia, Heilongjiang, Xinjiang, and other provinces (regions), with production areas of 26.992 million mu, 1.55 million mu, and 100,000 mu, respectively.

II. Situation of grass product production and processing enterprises (i) Production situation of grass product processing enterprises

In 2013, China had 293 grass product processing enterprises, with a production volume of 2.597 million tons, a year-on-year increase of 13.9%. They are mainly concentrated in Gansu, Heilongjiang, Inner Mongolia, Hebei, and other provinces (regions), with production volumes of 883,000 tons, 465,300 tons, 279,100 tons, and 94,000 tons, respectively, accounting for 33.99%, 17.9%, 10.7%, and

3.6% of the national total, respectively.

There were 131 grass product processing enterprises in pastoral and semi-pastoral areas nationwide, producing about 1.0836 million tons of grass products, accounting for 41.72% of the national total. They are mainly distributed in Heilongjiang, Gansu, Inner Mongolia, and Jilin, and other provinces (regions), with production volumes accounting for 37.28%,

25.82%, 22.31%, and 10.73% of the total output of pastoral and semi-pastoral areas, respectively.

(ii) Main types of grass products and production volumes

The grass products produced in China are mainly hay bales, grass cubes, grass pellets, and grass meal, with outputs of 1.727 million tons, 253,900 tons, 286,800 tons, and 146,400 tons, accounting for 66.49%, 9.77%, 11.04%, and 5.63% of total grass product production, respectively. Among them, the output of alfalfa (Medicago sativa) products was 1.1718 million tons, mainly in the form of hay bales, grass cubes, and grass pellets, at 731,900 tons, 180,800 tons, and 136,100 tons, respectively, accounting for 62.46%, 11.62%, and 15.43% of total alfalfa product output. Leymus chinensis was the second-largest type of grass product produced, with an output of 460,000 tons; the main product form was hay bales, with an output of 445,000 tons, accounting for 96% of total Leymus chinensis output. Third was grass products made from corn straw as raw material, with an output of 223,000 tons; the main product forms were grass cubes and hay bales, with an output of 103,400 tons, accounting for 46.3% of total corn straw product output.

The types of grass products produced in pastoral and semi-pastoral areas were mainly hay bales, grass pellets, and grass cubes, with outputs of 820,000 tons, 79,000 tons, and 69,000 tons, accounting for 33.9%, 3.3%, and 2.8% of national grass product production, respectively. Grass product production in pastoral and semi-pastoral areas mainly uses alfalfa (Medicago sativa), Leymus chinensis, and corn straw as the main forage species.

III. Import and export of grass products

In 2013, 798,400 tons of hay were imported, including 755,600 tons of alfalfa, a year-on-year increase of 70.89%, mainly imported from the United States; and 42,800 tons of oats, a year-on-year increase of 144.29%, mainly imported from Australia. In 2013, the average CIF price of alfalfa imported by China was 371.36 USD/ton, a year-on-year decrease of 5.6%.