Multiple major land policies poised to launch, agricultural product price reform pilot expected to start

According to a report by Economic Information Daily, it was recently learned from multiple authoritative sources that, in addition to the continuation of existing trial varieties and regions, relevant departments are studying the implementation of target price subsidies for sugar in Guangxi. If it passes demonstration, it will be written into next year's Central Document No. 1. In addition, reform of the land system will be further deepened, and a series of heavyweight policies will be introduced next year. At present, relevant departments are studying policies such as reform of the land expropriation system, entry of collective land into the market, and mortgage and transfer of farmers' housing property rights.

The target price reform pilot proposed for the first time in this year's Central Document No. 1 is an important measure to improve China's agricultural product price formation mechanism. The so-called target price system refers to the government setting a target price for agricultural products. When the actual market price is higher than the target price, low-income consumers are subsidized; when the market price is lower than the target price, producers are subsidized according to the price difference.

According to the deployment of this year's Central Document No. 1, the cotton and soybean target price pilots successively carried out in Xinjiang, Northeast China and Inner Mongolia have attracted much market attention. According to relevant sources, the pilot reform of the agricultural product price formation mechanism is only a beginning this year, and relevant departments are actively studying the 2015 price reform plan.

Chen Xiwen, deputy head of the Central Rural Work Leading Group and director of its office, believes that the most important issue currently facing agricultural product price reform is the mechanism. Since this is a socialist market economy, the role of the market mechanism should be brought into greater play. However, grain is also related to the national economy and people's livelihood, so the government cannot leave it entirely alone. In the past, the minimum purchase price and temporary state reserve both had the government supporting the market and providing a fallback, but after the implementation of target prices, to a certain extent this fallback no longer exists.