By Mei Mei Chu and Joe Cash
BEIJING (Reuters) -China’s grain output is set to exceed a record 700 million metric tons this year, a key agriculture ministry official said on Friday, calling for continued efforts to ensure stable supply.
That figure is 0.7% higher than the 2023 harvest of 695.41 million tons, data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed.
Highly reliant on imports from Brazil and the United States to feed a population of 1.4 billion, the world’s largest grains producer has stepped up investments in farm machinery and seed technology in recent years in its quest for food security.
“China’s grain output has been stable for nine consecutive years at more than 1.3 trillion jin and this year is forecast to exceed 1.4 trillion jin for the first time,” Zhang Xingwang, the vice minister for agriculture and rural affairs, told a press conference in Beijing.
The volumes cited are equivalent to 650 million tons and 700 million tons, respectively.
But soybean stocks remain dependent on imports and corn planting was still falling short of requirement, Zhang added.
“National food supply and demand is in a tight balance, with no substantial change, and so efforts to ensure a stable and safe supply of grains cannot be relaxed,” he said.
To boost yields, the ministry has selected and bred a number of high-oil and high-yield varieties of soybeans, he said.
The ministry also plans measures on soybean processing subsidies and stockpile acquisition.
Another ministry official said state stockpiler Sinograin would increase the scale of its corn purchases, which would help boost both farmer income and planting.
Pork prices were stable in the fourth quarter and hog profit margins were set to stay at a normal level, the official added.
China has been grappling to recover from record low prices of pork, beef and dairy in the past year after a rapid expansion of farms amid declining consumption led to an oversupply.
Efforts to reduce herd size have paid off, with prices moderating after farmers ramped up slaughter of hogs, beef and dairy cattle. Zhang said the growth rate of dairy cow breeding has slowed.
The ministry said it would keep monitoring the pace of production, particularly of hogs, as greater productivity of breeding sows has sent more piglets to market, which could hit prices next year.
China had about 40.62 million breeding sows by the end of September, it added.
(Reporting by Mei Mei Chu; Editing by Christopher Cushing and Clarence Fernandez)
