by PressChina expects high wheat yield: agricultural market overview
High wheat and rice yields: what Chinese farmers can expect
China has harvested a record high yield of crops, which is an excellent sign to replenish the country’s reserves. According to a statement from the Ministry of Agriculture, the authorities plan to keep this year’s grain production at 650 million tons.
According to official data, local farmers managed to gather a record harvest, although the season was marked by unfavorable weather conditions and infestation of various diseases. Such results were achieved through the expansion of cultivated areas. Prior to that, the wheat acreage was regularly reduced for four years in a row.
A contribution to the record production volume was also made by the use of high quality farmland, where the yield per unit area is much higher than that of standard farmland.
China is one of the largest producers of wheat in the world market, providing a share of 17%. In order to increase the grain harvest, the country has introduced various programs to optimize cultivation processes and product quality. The main wheat production region is considered to be the North China Plain, which accounts for 80% of the state’s total. In addition to this region, wheat is grown in Xinjiang and Gansu provinces. However, the consumption of grain in China is regularly growing, which requires an increase in domestic production. This was especially noticeable in 2020, when, after a mass epidemic, the number of pigs began to increase intensively, and local stocks of products were not enough to feed them. As a result, prices for wheat and corn on the world market reached historic highs and caused a rush. To reduce dependence on imports and increase stocks, the Chinese authorities introduced a new rule for farmers. They obliged producers to allocate land for the cultivation of wheat, and set a minimum area for this purpose. The government hopes that such requirements will increase yields and thus stabilize grain prices on the domestic market.
China emphasizes the importance of growing crops in the first place to meet the needs of the population, and secondly for financial well-being.
So far, there is a shortage not only of wheat and corn, but also of soybeans on the domestic market. In October imports of the latter increased by 41% compared to the previous season. As for corn, its purchase volumes are forecast to reach 22 million tons by the end of the period.
The main product for China is rice, and there have been high production figures for a long time. Production of this crop in the current season is expected to reach 650 million tons.