March 15, 2004

China Targets Increased Grain Production

Three of China's northeastern provinces have targeted an increase in grain production in a bid to reinforce the country's grain security.

The governors of the three provinces, Heilongjiang, Jilin and Liaoning, promised at a press conference during the national legislature's annual session that they will not reduce their grain production capacity as they are making intensified efforts to regain the past glory of the heavy industrial base.

The provinces provide one third of China's total commodity grain a year.

Zhang Zuoji, governor of Heilongjiang, said the province will expand grain output by 3-4 billion kg this year for a total of 28-29 billion kg.

The central and provincial governments will allocate over RMB6 billion (US$725 million) in transfer of payments to encourage farmers to grow grain, which means over RMB100 (US$12) for each grain farmer in the province, Zhang said.

Hong Hu, governor of Jilin, said grain growers in the province are expected to earn RMB1.7 billion (US$205 million) more than last year from government subsidies, tax reduction and other policies.

Jilin produces one seventh of the country's corn, and corn kept in warehouses of the province accounts for half of the national total. Its corn exports make up three quarters of the country's total.

"The province will never relax in grain production," Hong said.

China's grain output decreased to a record low of 430 million tons last year in the fifth consecutive year, from a record of some 520 million tons in 1998, due to shrinking farmland sown to grain crops and natural disasters.