Knowing China Better: Food Security

Achieving food security has been a long standing priority for the CCP. With a little over 1.4 billion people, China possesses almost one-fifth of the world’s population but less than one-tenth of the world’s total arable land. Although China’s per capita grain production (1036 lbs) exceeds the international average (882 lbs), it remains the world’s largest food importer.

 

Food Security Concerns. Strong Chinese demand continued to raise grain prices to record highs into 2021. In 2020, China bought record amounts of non-rice grains and oilseeds including wheat, sorghum and soybeans. Although the government said that the 2020 summer harvest produced “all-time high” outputs, anecdotal reports of grain shortages led farmers to hoard crops and state purchases of grain reserves declined.

Contributing Factors. Food security concerns have arisen due to coronavirus pandemic, a 2019-2020 outbreak of swine fever, and historic flooding, droughts, and typhoons. A growing middle class and changing consumption patterns further add to the problem, while urbanization continues to shrink both available farmland and the rural labour supply.

 

Top Down Down Concerted Effort. Chinese President Xi Jinping has called for developing basic self-sufficiency in grain production. Food security was enshrined last year as one of “six guarantees” that the central government   would prioritize as it sought to address economic uncertainties arising from the effects of the coronavirus pandemic. Food security, specifically addressing the two problems of “seeds and arable land,” was also listed as one of eight key priorities areas. The first joint policy statement of the CCP Central Committee and the State Council issued in 2021, was dedicated to the topic of food security. China has mobilized its substantial state resources to elevate food security to a national security priority in the 14th FYP.

 

Mitigation Strategy.

• Strategy document. A 2019 White Paper on food security prioritized domestic wheat and rice production, trading off increasing “moderate imports” of soybeans and corn to compensate.

• Import Diversification. Both before and after the pandemic, China has sought to diversify its food imports, looking to emerging economies in Latin America, Central Asia, and the Black Sea region to offset its corn and soybean needs.

• Procurement of Arable land. China has been buying arable land all over the world to offset its domestic shortage.

• Anti-food wastage Law. A national anti-food waste campaign was started in August 2020 that got converted to Anti-Food Waste Law in April 2021. The law aims to, among other things, to counter an estimated annual 35 million tons of grain loss due to inefficiencies in storage and  transportation.

• Land and yield Regulation. Provincial authorities have been instructed to maintain a “red line” of 120 million hectares of arable land while increasing the yields of wheat, corn, rice, cotton, edible oils, sugar, and meat.

• Use of Technology. Technological advances in seed quality and agricultural techniques—including biological breeding, gene editing, synthetic biology, and artificial intelligence are being used to increase the crop yield.

• Seed Supply. China’s Ministry of Agriculture has announced that it will conduct a survey of seed and animal genetic resources to improve the seed supply and to turnaround China’s seed industry within three

• Planned Targets. Food security has been included in the 14th Five Year Plan (FYP, 2021-2025), with binding stipulation to maintain annual grain production above650 million tons through 2025.

There is much more to it.

Titbit Info

Sorghum is a genus of about 25 species of flowering plants in the grass family (Poaceae). Some of these species are grown as cereals for human consumption and some in pastures for animals. One species, Sorghum bicolor, was originally domesticated in Africa and has since spread throughout the globe.

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References

1. https://jamestown.org/program/chinese-leaders-project-confidence-in-self-sufficiency-amid-post-pandemic-food-security-concerns/
2. https://journalofeconomicstructures.springeropen.com/articles/10.1186/s40008-017-0097-4
3. https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2021/2/22/chinaa-no-1-document-beijing-steps-up-focus-on-food-security
4. https://www.world-grain.com/articles/14899-china-increases-focus-on-food-security
5. https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3111623/china-food-security-hows-it-going-and-whys-it-important