March 11, 2008

China must maintain grain output at 500 million-tonne level 

China needs to maintain annual production of grains above 500 million tonnes a year to meet rising domestic demand, a senior government official said Monday (March 11, 2008).

However, available agricultural acreage has steadily declined over the years due to rapid urbanization and industrialization in recent years.

In order to maintain production, China must also at a minimum maintain agricultural land at last year's level of 120 million hectares, out of which 106 million hectares must continue to be devoted to grains alone, said Chen Mengshan, director general of China's Department of Planting Industry Management, under the Ministry of Agriculture.

Grain output exceeded 500 million tonnes in 2007, the government said in late December, up from 497.45 million tonnes in 2006.

Chinese economists have predicted that domestic grain demand will peak by around 2030, as the country's population is expected to decline thereafter.