China Enlists Food Security Campaign in Disaster Year

Ensure autumn harvest, manage inflation expectations and stabilize food prices! In the disaster-ridden autumn, from the central government to the local government, a “food security battle” has been launched throughout the country.

In some areas, the output of summer grain is reduced, and the pressure for the autumn grain supplement is from the southwest drought at the beginning of the year to the floods in the south in June, and to the floods in the northeast in July. These mainly occur in natural disasters in the main grain-producing areas of China, and this year’s grain production It casts a shadow.

According to the agricultural dispatching of the Ministry of Agriculture, it is expected that the country's autumn grain area will reach 1.149 billion mu this year, an increase of 13 million mu over the previous year. At present, it is generally better to have a bumper harvest. However, China's current autumn grain production still faces some difficulties and problems.

First, the situation of disaster prevention and mitigation is still severe. In the summer of this year, the extent of China's heavy rainfall was greater than that of the same period of last year. The flood disaster was more severe than in the same period of previous years. In some areas, the situation of public opinion and disasters is still developing. There are only two typhoons currently landed, and the typhoon may be concentrated in the late period and the landing is stronger. At the later stage of autumn grain production, it also faces the risk of summer drought, high-temperature heat damage, cold dewness and other disasters. At the same time, due to the general delay in spring and summer sowing this year, the time for replanting and resuming production in agriculture is more pressing than in previous years.

Second, the impact of low-temperature flooding on rice production cannot be ignored. Affected by persistent low-temperature flooding, the rice growth process is generally delayed for 7 to 10 days, increasing the chance of encountering “cold dew-breathing” in the later period; the late-season rice blasting age is generally large and the tillering power is weakened, which is not conducive to building a reasonable population.

Third, the drought situation in some areas continues, causing pressure on the implementation of late autumn crops.

As grain merchants compete for grain resources and increase inflationary expectations, the international food market has undergone drastic changes in the situation of a large domestic production pressure on autumn grain production this year. Russia and other major wheat producing areas in the world suffered drought, and Australia, another major exporter, suffered locust plagues. The prices of corn, soybeans, cotton and sugar in the international agricultural Commodity futures market have also generally risen. Due to the "most severe drought in 130 years," on August 5, Russia announced that it was banned from exporting food and grain products.

“An upcoming fierce battle will begin with the late rice acquisition at the end of September.” Wu Wulin, head of Jiangxi Jinjia Grain Co., Ltd., told reporters that “small factories that compete with large companies are often the result of funds controlling grain sources. Insufficient, large grain companies can control and destroy many small and medium-sized enterprises by controlling the sources of grain and controlling prices."

Foreign grain merchants have begun to compete for grain sources in the Chinese market. According to relevant persons from the grain industry in Jiangxi Province, Yihai Kerry, a company invested by Singapore Fengyi International Co., Ltd. in China, built a rice processing plant with an annual processing capacity of 200,000 tons of rice in Nanchang County, and set the main target in The acquisition of late rice. According to expert analysis, 60% of China's rations are rice, and the latter accounts for more than 60% of all rice production. Directly controlling the price of mid-late rice can fundamentally affect the price of food.

After the peak period of early rice acquisition, it was followed by the autumn grain purchase. The reduction in early rice production caused by natural disasters provided the basis for the expected price increase. According to the statistics of China Grainnet, this year's national production of early rice production has been a foregone conclusion. Last year's rising food prices from low to high gave farmers the psychological expectation that "food prices will rise." The phenomenon of farmers reluctant to sell has emerged in some areas such as Jiangxi. At the same time, the rise in international food prices may also have a major impact on China's grain market.

Liu Tong, head of the statistical department of Beijing's Xinfadi Agricultural Products Wholesale Market, believes that with the listing of new grain, the country will raise the price of grain purchases, and China's grain prices will certainly rise in the second half of this year. Cheng Guoqiang, a researcher at the Development Research Center of the State Council, believes that proper price increases are good for farmers, but over-hype will cause prices to go out of the normal track and produce negative benefits. Sheng Laiyun, spokesperson of the National Bureau of Statistics, recently stated that at present, there is sufficient supply and demand for food in the country, and food prices do not have the basis for a substantial increase. Since grain prices are closely related to the enthusiasm of farmers for growing grain, the country may slowly increase the purchase price of grain on the basis of stable grain prices.

“Ding Haishenzhen”: National Grain Reserves for grain producers at home and abroad will increase food prices, but judging from the current situation, it is still difficult to fundamentally instigate the national grain initiative. According to the person in charge of the State Grain Administration, the balance of grain supply and demand was basically balanced in the first half of this year, the country’s grain reserves were relatively abundant, the market supply was adequate, prices were basically stable, and the domestic grain market was generally stable.

Thanks to the central government's strong agricultural and agricultural policies, grain production in 2009 was a bumper harvest for the sixth consecutive year. The total output reached 530.8 billion kilograms, an increase of 2.1 billion kilograms over the previous year. In addition, the country’s grain inventories are still at a relatively high level, which is the biggest guarantee for market stability and ensuring supply.

Liu Tong said: “The uniform grain reserves of the country have a great effect on stabilizing grain prices. As early as in April and May this year, the price of rice on the market was once high, and the government released a little rice from the grain reserves, and the grain prices naturally fell back. It's up."

The person in charge of the State Grain Administration stated that if large natural disasters do not occur in the later period, the whole year's grain production is still expected to have a good harvest, and the balance between supply and demand will remain basically the same. He believes that the current China's food stocks consumption ratio is still much higher than the internationally recognized safety line of 17% to 18%, and can guarantee the domestic market supply.

On August 13, Minister of Agriculture Han Changfu pointed out at the late rice and autumn grain production symposium in eight southern provinces (regions) that at present, China’s overall food supply and demand balance does not exclude the problem of unbalanced supply and demand in individual species and individual regions. Under the current international and domestic complex economic background, it is necessary to prevent small market fluctuations from triggering major unrest.

The key to stability: ensuring that the harvest of autumn crops achieves the goal of food production for the whole year depends on the autumn grain. Liao Xiyuan, deputy director of the China National Rice Research Institute, said that it is of great significance to seize the good harvest of the autumn crops and maintain a steady development of grain production, which will ensure market supply, manage inflation expectations, and promote stable and rapid economic development.

"For food production, I am afraid that the biggest worry is the drought situation. A lot of rain is not necessarily a bad thing. With good management in the later period, it will still achieve a good harvest." Zheng Guoguang, director of the China Meteorological Administration, said during an exclusive interview with a half-monthly reporter that China weather The Bureau is actively strengthening the monitoring and early warning of meteorological disasters such as floods, droughts, high-temperature heat damage, early frost, and cold dew winds, and produces special weather reports in a timely manner.

In response to the current autumn grain production problems, the State Council promptly issued a supporting policy. The central government allocated 1.1 billion yuan to increase fertilization and promote early maturation and pest control subsidies for paddy rice in the main production areas of southern double-cropping late rice and the northeast, and further improve the promotion of rice production. Support policy measures for autumn winter production. The Ministry of Agriculture has worked out the implementation plan with related departments and will further deploy and implement it.

At present, all major grain-producing areas in China have taken action to ensure the stability of autumn grain production and even increase production. Mao Huizhong, director of the Jiangxi Provincial Department of Agriculture, said that this year's grain production target in Jiangxi is early rice losses. Since the end of June, Jiangxi Province has been fully supporting the recovery of food production after the disaster. The provincial government has financed farmers in the disaster-hit areas for free, refusing farmland and providing seedlings, and mobilizing more than 3,000 large-scale plants. Agricultural machinery will help the disaster-stricken areas to resume the post-disaster agricultural production. At present, Jiangxi has organized 10,000 agricultural technicians to enter the village, and each technician is responsible for the production technical guidance and services for late rice of 2000 mu or more.

In Liaoning, 14 agricultural expert science and technology service groups, including the Provincial Rural Economic Committee, the Provincial Academy of Agricultural Sciences, and Shenyang Agricultural University, are working in various cities to carry out technical services for disaster reduction and disaster reduction, and provide technical guidance for tours in rural areas throughout the province, and aim at Planting model, formulate technical plan for disaster prevention and protection of autumn crops.