China plans to boost grain production by 50M tons by 2030

By Fuat Kabakci

Plagued by famine and food crises many times in its history, China’s number one priority is ensuring food self-sufficiency, which is why the nation plans to boost grain production by 50 million tons by 2030.

China, with its 1.4 billion population, feeds 20% of the global population with some 10% of the world’s cultivable land and 6% of the global water resource.

According to the plan announced in April, especially soybean and corn production will be increased, as they make up a significant portion of grain imported, and the annual grain production is expected to rise to 750 million tons.

The Chinese government is working towards improving agricultural production and achieving self-sufficiency by combating land reduction, induced by malpractices and non-agricultural activities.

Families in China can lease agricultural land for long term, according to the system introduced in the early 1980s, and farmers can produce predetermined products in line with quotas, pay taxes to the state, and sell crops to the local government and surplus products at the domestic market at high prices.

The nation’s plan will place emphasis on irrigation facilities with high standards for agricultural lands, modernization of agricultural lands, and seed efficiency, while facilitating loans, improving food storage, and the transportation infrastructure.

- Spanning 118.9M hectares, China’s cultivation area produces 700M tons of grains

Currently, China’s annual grain cultivation area reaches 118.9 million hectares in total, in which corn, rice, wheat, oilseeds, soybeans, and cotton are grown.

The nation’s plan to boost agricultural production will focus on increasing the production capacity from 5.8 tons per hectare to 6.3 tons, while increasing the area of plantation to increase soybean and corn production.

China’s grain production reached 695.4 million tons last year, an increase of 1.3% year-on-year.

China’s agricultural product trade reached a total of $333 billion last year, $234.1 billion of which made up imports and $98.9 billion of which accounted for exports.

*Writing by Emir Yildirim