Recently, Qiu Huanguang, Standing Member of the CPC Committee and Vice President of Liaoning University (LNU) was interviewed by Economic Daily. The original article is reprinted as follows:
This year, Government Work Report set an expectation of 0.7 trillion kilogram of grain output. Facing the grim situation at home and abroad, experts believe that it is necessary to stabilize grain prices and ensure the achievement of the expectation for this year, so as to promote the continuous recovery of the economy.
Grain prices are gradually returning reasonable.
According to the National Food and Strategic Reserves Administration, up to now, the cumulative purchase volume of autumn grains nationwide has exceeded 300 million tons, equivalent to 60% of the autumn grain output. In terms of rice, the peak-season purchase of middle and late-season rice successfully concluded at the end of February, meeting the volume of 105 million tons. The market price remained generally stable, with the characteristics of better quality and lower price.
In the past two years, affected by various factors, major grain varieties prices have operated in a weak condition. Except for rice, which has remained relatively stable, the prices of corn, wheat, and soybeans have all declined significantly, affecting farmers’ income from grain cultivation. The director of the National Food and Strategic Reserves Administration said that since the autumn grain came onto the market last year, they have actively implemented the minimum purchase price policy for rice, increased the intensity of corn procurement and storage, promoted the sales, processing and transformation of soybeans, focused on promoting the connection between production and marketing, stimulated market vitality, and strived to keep grain prices reasonable. They have firmly safeguarded the bottom line of ensuring that farmers can sell the grain they have planted.
As for corn, after the Spring Festival, with the further implementation of procurement and storage regulation measures, market confidence has been continuously restored, and the price of corn has increased to some extent. As for soybeans, with enterprises resuming production and schools reopening, the demand for replenishing inventories among various entities has increased, the market sentiment of expecting price increases has strengthened, traders have become more enthusiastic about purchasing, and they have continuously raised the purchasing prices.
Qiu Huanguang, an expert on agriculture, rural areas and farmers and Vice President of LNU, said that the import of low-priced grains is an important reason for the decline of domestic grain prices. In 2024, China’s grain import volume reached 158 million tons, resulting in an ample supply in the domestic market. The imbalance between production and trade led to relatively low grain prices, which affected farmers’ income and enthusiasm for growing grains. It is urgent to improve the coordination mechanism for agricultural product trade and production, control the rhythm and scale of grain imports, keep the prices of important agricultural products such as grains reasonable, stabilize market supply and demand, and prevent the situation where low grain prices hurt farmers’ interests.
Imposing additional tariffs will not influence food security.
Recently, in response to the additional tariffs imposed by the United States and Canada, China has imposed additional tariffs on some imported goods originating from the United States. Specifically, an additional 15% tariff has been imposed on wheat and corn, and an additional 10% one has been imposed on sorghum and soybeans. For goods originating from Canada, an additional 100% tariff has been imposed on rapeseed oil, oil residue cakes and peas. Wang Liaowei, Senior Economist at the National Grain and Oil Information Center, said that imposing on some agricultural products from the United States and Canada will not affect the stable supply of grains in China.
In 2024, China’s grain output first exceeded 0.7 trillion kilograms, and the per capita grain possession reached 500 kilograms. The grain inventory remained at a historically high level. Wang Liaowei said that after the additional tariffs are imposed, the cost of imported grains will increase. This is conducive to reducing the impact of low-priced imported grains on the domestic market, expanding the consumption of domestically produced grains, and driving the price recovery of domestically produced corn, soybeans, rapeseed and other crops. It is beneficial to protecting the interests of farmers who grow grains.
In recent years, China has actively expanded the range of source countries for agricultural product imports and gradually formed a diversified import pattern, effectively defusing the threats posed by dependence on a single channel. “China’s dependence on a single market for grain imports has significantly decreased, enabling it to effectively cope with the impacts brought about by the uncertainties in the international grain situation,” said Wang Liaowei.
Qiu Huanguang said that China’s imposition of additional tariffs on some agricultural products from the United States and Canada is a countermeasure against the trade frictions unilaterally provoked by these two countries, and it serves to safeguard China’s industrial security and the interests of farmers. At the same time, China has always adhered to the basic national policy of opening up to the outside world. It has granted all products from the least developed countries that have established diplomatic relations with China a full zero-tariff treatment, which helps to boost their economic development and improve people’s livelihoods.
Ensure the expectation target for grain output is achieved.
Ensuring the stable and high-yield production of grain has always been the foundation for safeguarding food security. Qiu Huanguang said that we should strengthen the support of agricultural science, technology and equipment, develop new forms of productive forces in agriculture according to local conditions, and equip agriculture with the wings of science and technology to fully unleash the potential for increasing production and efficiency. We should strengthen the modern construction of agricultural infrastructure, promote the construction of high-standard farmland with high quality, comprehensively improve the agricultural capacity for disaster prevention and reduction, get rid of relying solely on the weather for harvest, and achieve stable yields regardless of droughts or floods.
Zhang Xuebiao, a research fellow at the Institute of Agricultural Information of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences and Director of the International Intelligence Office, said that to achieve the expected target of grain output, it is necessary to further increase the policy support for strengthening, benefiting and enriching farmers. Implement the minimum purchase price policies for rice and wheat, improve the subsidy policies for corn and soybean producers as well as the rice subsidy policy, and stabilize the policy of subsidy for the protection of cultivated land fertility. In response to the problem of the inversion between grain production and financial returns faced by major grain-producing counties, it is necessary to reduce the proportion of county-level premium subsidies for agricultural insurance in major grain-producing counties, and promote the expansion of the insured area of full cost insurance and planting income insurance for rice, wheat, corn and soybeans. Improve the reward and subsidy incentive system in major grain-producing areas and increase support for major grain-producing counties.
The low efficiency of grain cultivation and the relatively low added value of grain processing products are important reasons. Qiu Huanguang said that it is necessary to improve the comprehensive efficiency and competitiveness of the grain industry. Adhere to the market orientation and quality orientation, fully tap the resources of rural “local specialties”, strengthen the intensive processing of grain products and the fine processing of food, make the most of the work related to “agricultural production and its subsequent industrial processing “and” grain production and its subsequent food processing”, improve the level of the entire industrial chain, create a number of rural and local brands with distinct regional characteristics, and drive the increase of farmers’ income.
