Surplus skim milk powder may be destined for China

The Increasing CPI in China Gains New Name, “Chinese Pig Index” by Chinese Consumers

Canada’s Fruitful Hay Production Sparks High Interest in Chinese Importers

Potato Crops- “Golden Egg” for Poor Rural Chinese Farmers

Demand Continues to Grow for High Quality Beef in China

Can Money Buy Happiness? : Results of Recent Survey Shock Chinese Professionals

“Spider Chicken” Allegations Have Consumers Concerned for Their Safety

China: Severe Drought Leaves Locals and Farmers Threatened

China vows to improve food safety, grassroots medical services in 2011

China's agriculture 60 years:  from self-sufficiency to grain contribution

Doors open for beef in China!

China's agriculture will be severely affected by climate change

China Vows to Change Agriculture Development Partern

China to plough extra 20% into agricultural production

China finally grants Canada Approved Destination Status!

China Agriculture

Chinese Biofuel News:  China leads in bringing bioethanol research to market

Chinese farmers using nuclear technology to boost crop yield

Surplus skim milk powder may be destined for China

Mississauga- A group of eight Chinese investors is poised to buy up Canada’s “structural surplus” of skim milk powder to export as baby formula.

David Reynolds says the group is investing $62 million to build a 100,000-square-foot plant in Scarborough that will employ 355 people to make 30,000 tonnes per year of baby formula for export to China and perhaps India and other far-Eastern countries.

He said the company expects to have sales of $33 million a year. It chose Canada, despite its world’s-highest prices for milk, because of the country’s reputation for quality.

There is strong demand in China, where there is a one-child policy, for top-quality infant formula. Many Chinese who can afford expensive food prefer Canadian products because they have been scared by Chinese food-industry scandals, including repeat cheating to put melanine in milk to boost protein-content test results.

Reynolds, who is president of INAC Services Ltd. and has decades of experience in dairy-industry global trading, said this deal will increase Canadian dairy-farmer incomes by $31 million a year. That’s the difference between the price of skim milk powder marketed as animal feed and what the Canadian Dairy Commission can sell this company as Class 5(b) milk.

“Why Scarborough?” Reynolds asked when he spoke to the semi-annual meeting of Ontario Agri-Food Technologies Inc. here. “Why not Vancouver, which would be closer to China?”

“Because they (the investors) live in Scarborough,” he said.

Gord Surgeonor, chief of staff at Ontario Agri-Food Technologies, said he was first approached about this venture, mainly because Canada does not export dairy products and runs a highly-protective supply-management system.

But Surgeonor said he has been convinced this is a legitimate venture that will “in no way affect supply management.”

Canada’s structural surplus of skim milk powder arises out of a supply-management policy of balancing production and sales on a butterfat basis.

When dairy farmers are marketing just enough butterfat, there is too much skim milk left over and it’s processed into dry powders which are then “dumped” as animal feed because countries will not take dairy exports from Canada. That’s tit-for-tat because Canada has set dairy-product tariffs so high that nobody can export to our markets.

One of the challenges for the investors is to convince Canada to call the infant formula a dairy product so it can qualify to be imported into China.

However, failing that, Reynolds said the investors will start marketing in India where there is no similar import restriction.

Among the Chinese investors are All City Importers, Hei-longjiang Dragon Food Ltd. which owns large dairy farms, Dairy Farms International Holdings, which owns a super-market chain and the Chinese rights to IKEA and Wahaha Foods, a bottler marketing infant formulas under 100 different brands and annual sales of $16 billion.

Reynolds said there are $5 billion worth of infant formulas sold in Southeast Asia per year and demand is increasing by 12 per cent per year. There are 150 million middle-class Chinese now and that’s projected to increase to 1.7 billion in eight years, he said.

India will have an even greater increase in middle-class income earners, he said, and in eight years India and China and neighbouring countries will have 42 per cent of the world’s middle-class income earners, he said.

He said this company, and others like it, could benefit from Canadian partnerships and mentors. “We should be modeling with them, helping them with things like building permits,” Reynolds said.

Surgeonor said the company filed for a building permits six months ago and is still waiting for Scarborough’s approvals. “It’s frustrating!”

The Increasing CPI in China Gains New Name, “Chinese Pig Index” by Chinese Consumers

Hamilton, ON, July 13th, 2011

According to Statistics China report on July 9th, the CPI for the month of June was at 6.4% with a contribution rate of 1.37, which represents the highest inflation rate in 3 years. What accounts for this dramatic rate you ask? Chinese investors, consumers and economists all blame pork prices, as it they have increase 57.1% in just one month, contributing to over 20% of the nation’s CPI. Officials in the pork industry make various different suggestions.

Chinese economists say this increase is a recovery from last year because the pork manufacture industry was slow, but unfortunately, the industry prices have a tendency to fluctuate. The fluctuation of pork prices and market instability over the last couple years forces confusion among investors when the question is posed, to buy or not to buy. That being said, the Chinese Minister of Agriculture voices to the public that the government encourages farmers to buy more piglets in hopes that the market will find stability in the Chinese New Year. With the constant fluctuation, the chances of that happening may be slim.

One pork store owner forecasts his own opinion, “The price will go down. I’ve been doing this for more than 10 years, fluctuation in this market is normal. People should get used to it.” Needless to say, consumers are not getting used to it any time soon, joking that now is the ideal time to get that beach body on account of the outrageous pork prices!  

The Vice President of Shuang Hui Meat Company in China, Mr Liu Ging Tong states, “We have enough meat in supply because of that, we never increase our price. The pork surge is very high, which results in increased cost and a decreased profit level for us. We are hoping for more control in the next 6 months.”

As China’s economy steadily grows and living conditions consistently increase, dairy and meat consumption seems to be at an all-time high. Because land resources are limited and a high population is upheld, hay production in China cannot be largely facilitated and quality cannot be guaranteed.

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency is working with the Chinese government in an attempt to open up imports of Canadian hay to China to improve the current standards of China’s hay. Until then, Canada China Agriculture and Food Development Exchange Center is confident in the progression of a global collaboration due to the high volume of Chinese investors interested in Canadian hay. Also, many Chinese businesses are currently seeking out Canadian hay production agencies in an attempt to form long lasting partnerships that benefit both the corresponding Canadian and Chinese markets.

Youming Zhao P.Agr CCAGR states, “The great success rate and high quality of the Canadian hay industry poses great opportunity for both Chinese companies and investors. We are happy to work our best in order to assist these interested parties in a trade agreement that will greatly benefit both Canada and China.”

Potato Crops- “Golden Egg” for Poor Rural Chinese Farmers

Victoria, Italiano

The province of Gansu in China has in the past been considered one of the most impoverished areas in China. It lies between the Tibetan and Huangtu plateaus, and borders Mongolia, Inner Mongolia, and Ningxia to the north, Xinjiang and Qinghai to the west, Sichuan to the south, and Shaanxi to the east. With a population of approximately 26 million people, Gansu is home to many Chinese of the Muslim religion. Dingxi, located in Gansu, is considered the highest quality production area for potatoes.

Over the last ten years or so, Dingxi has been noticed for their “special soil” that contains plentiful minerals which are perfect for the support of potato harvest. Since then, Dingxi has changed their impoverished image and began to develop an area of economic improvement. Dingxi can attribute a lot of their success to the high elevation and consistent warm temperature of the land. Due to a combination of these environmental factors, Gansu’s success has assisted China in their position as one of the largest potato producers in the world and maintains its name as the potato capital of China. Dingxi maintains distribution of these potatoes to Hong Kong and the residual provinces in China.  

Dingxi supports almost 17,000 acres in crops which generates an annual income per farmers of approximately 1000 Yuan. Although this figure converts into only $200 (CAD), it is a very large economic improvement for the people of Dingxi.

Demand Continues to Grow for High Quality Beef in China

Victoria Italiano

There has been significant media uproar in China recently pertaining to a beef food safety issue concerning smuggled beef that has many Chinese consumers worried. The China Beef Association, the Beef Technologies Office and an animal veterinarian magazine teamed up to organize a news conference to settle the worried Chinese consumers and put their thoughts at ease. 

Despite this commotion in Chinese communities, the demand for beef in China continues to grow. Professors at the Chinese Agriculture University stated at this conference that China’s beef production industry has rapidly increased, accounting for 8.4% of total meat production in China. China’s total beef production makes up for approximately 10% of global beef production initiatives. Coming in behind the United States and Brazil, China ranks 3rd place for the highest amount of beef production in the world.

China’s beef industry has many genetic resources to accompany a large variety of high quality production which has resulted in increased demand over the last few years. A group of some of the most financially successful companies in China that are responsible for the entire beef production process -from farming, to slaughter, to selling and wholesale distribution- were approached by the Chinese government to supply beef for the Beijing Olympics in 2008. This effort presented major media coverage for beef products in China, hence the increased global trade and demand for beef products. The current market value in China for top-quality beef sits at 2300Y/kg which converts to approximately $354/kg.

According to Chinese experts, an average $1000 (U.S) per global consumer income is attributed to beef and beef products. On average, $2000 (U.S) of Chinese consumer’s yearly income is accountable for high quality beef. The increased demand of superior beef products in China poses great opportunity for international beef producers who are looking for expansion.

Can Money Buy Happiness? : Results of Recent Survey Shock Chinese Professionals

The whole world is familiar with the age old debate; “Can Money Buy Happiness?” a new study conducted by the Capital University of Economics in China reveals a result surprising enough of baffle professors and social scientists.

On May 6th, the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences Research Center of Urban and Competiveness released a report stating that the people of China were, in general, happy people. This report stated that the level of happiness continues to increase on a consistent level nationwide.  Wen-Ling Chen , the senior officer of the State of Council, , strongly disagreed with this, stating that every time she goes back to her hometown, Shijiazhuang; the residents seem to have more and more to complain about.

On June 11th, the Chinese Academy of Social Science and the Capital University of Economics conducted a quality of life survey involving 30 of China’s Provincial Capital Cities, that’s 70,000 people, to see if the people of China are happy. These results varied tremendously from the previous report, stating that the average level of happiness for the cities involved resulted in a 49.71.

According to the design of this survey, people are truly happy when they rank 75 points and over. A 50 point rank reflects a mediocre happiness level. This survey was made up of components such as quality of life measure, covering the cost of living, the environment, convenience and pace. The happiest city in China was Haikou, coming in at 55.08. As a result, the country of China is not happy.

The top ten happiest cities were Haikou, Lanzhou, Hangzhou, Jinan, Yinchuan, Hefei, Chengdu, Chongqing, Xining, and Changchun. The bottom five cities were Kunming, Taiyuan, Nanchang, Hohhot and Wuhan.

This is a surprising result because, for those who are not familiar with Chinese geography, the top ten happiest cities are location along the west coast of China. These cities are typically known as the residential areas with a slower pace and smaller population. Results suggest that residents enjoy living in these eastern countries more so as the environmental surrounds are improved and maintained and cost of living is lower. The five most unhappy cities are located on the east coast of China and have a much larger population. These cities are typically urbanized, more economically prosperous, contain low levels of social security and adopt a fast paced way of live.

This survey was conducted ultimately to improve the welfare level of Chinese citizens. The goal was not to analysis economic growth. Now that the results display that of unhappy Chinese citizens, a new second five-year economic action plan is being generated for the future. Forecast improvements include income distribution changes, the social security system, and the quality of economic operation to alter the quality of economic growth.

Since 1978, China’s overall GDP has increased approximately 9.2%. To date, China is considered one of the top ten richest countries in the world. One might assume that because there is an increase in economic prosperity, that the citizens of that country are happy, satisfied and comfortable people. This report illustrates the true answer that money cannot truly buy happiness.

“Spider Chicken” Allegations Have Consumers Concerned for Their Safety

Concern of chicken authenticity in the Chinese poultry industry encourages consumers belief in the infamous “spider chicken.” This fictitious creature possessing six legs and four wings is a result of a run in the rumour mill and has China’s Poultry Association attempting to prove its legitimacy.

China, among other countries, has been and currently is under great suspicion pertaining to the legitimacy of their industrial chicken farming maintenance and chicken related product production. Food safety is consistently an issue in China, and now, consumers and businesses are led to believe that industrial farmers are injecting their chickens with cancer causing hormones, as a result of the recent increased size in chickens.  Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC,) is also involved in these allegations, consumers claiming that the food they serve is unethically produced and in a sense, “manufactured” through immense hormone injection.

Chinese Export Scientists have come up with three explanations as to why these chickens have dramatically increased in size. The first, the chickens are exported from a different location in an attempt to introduce new variety to consumers. The second, the chickens are now fed new and improved chicken feed consisting of many nutritious ingredients including canola oil, soy bean and cornmeal. The third, industrial farmers are adopting new and improved methods of conducting, maintaining and managing their farms. Some of these methods include keeping the chicken cage cleaner and monitoring air control and temperature.

In an attempt to further convince consumers of the certified safety of China’s chicken, the Food Inspection Agency took chicken samples from 3 different leading grocery stores and also, a chicken sample from 27 Kentucky Fried Chicken locations. All of these samples were tested for 32 different chemicals, including cancer and other disease causing hormones. Thankfully, the results were negative and the rumours were put to rest.

A representative for KFC further justified this result by stating that the images of the “chicken spider” found online are altered, produced by technology and are contrary the laws of nature.

China: Severe Drought Leaves Locals and Farmers Threatened

Victoria Italiano

June 1, 2011, Hamilton, Ontario --35 million people and 5 provinces are greatly affected by the drought that has encompassed the Honghu Lake, which was for centuries prided upon for its economics nourishment. Farmers, officials, and the people of China are calling this the worst drought that has hit in over 50 years. More than 4.23 million people and livestock are directly deprived through lack of drinking water, not to mention relinquished opportunity to harvest.

Over 174000 acres of water and land that was once immensely depended on for agricultural and breeding industries, has been left dry and cracked in the extreme conditions of southern China’s 200 day drought. Desperate farmers are pumping water from nature reserves in an attempt to recover some of their lost crops. The Yangtze River, Chinas most economically significant and longest river, has experienced 60 percent lower than average levels of rainfall in the last 50 years.

The agricultural impact poses a massive threat to the economic prospects as the CPI continues to increase.  Early rice is not able to take root on account of the parched and cracked areas of farmland resulting in increased grain prices in Chinese and global markets.  Livestock is being threatened with the lack of driving water.  Primarily in provinces of Hubei, Anhui, Jiangxi, Hunan and Jiangsu are experiencing water levels that are destroying opportunities for fish farms and fish related organization.
The Three Gorges Dam, which is claimed to be the largest hydroelectric project in the world, is being ordered by the Natural Disaster Relief Office, to increase its distribution of water to assuage the region’s scarce water supply.

The dam will dispense 5bn cubic metres of water between May29th and June 10th, forcing engineers to martyr hydroelectric generation for ecosystem sustenance, irrigation and drinking provisions. As a result of this, warnings of sever power shortages—affecting approximately 400 million people and 40% of China’s economic activity. Some are saying this drought is a great sign of global warming taking extreme action and hitting Asia where it hurts the most.  

China vows to improve food safety, grassroots medical services in 2011

Source from Xinhua News

BEIJING, Jan. 6 (Xinhua) -- China's Minister of Health vowed Thursday to improve food safety regulations this year while ensuring adequate numbers of medical workers for and low prices at grassroots medical institutions.

"We will improve the system of releasing food safety information to the public...and continue to crack down on illegal use of non-edible additives," Minister Chen Zhu said at a meeting on China's 2011 health work.

Chen said the country will establish special organizations to evaluate food safety risks.

The country will also improve the system for investigating major food safety incidents and boost abilities to cope with emergency food accidents.

At the meeting, Chen said China will make more efforts to provide good doctors and specialist technicians to county-level hospitals, especially those in impoverished areas.

The country plans to train 10,000 pharmacists for grassroots health institutions this year.

The ministry will adjust the basic medicine catalog in accordance with people's needs to promote the basic medicine system in medical institutions.

According to the ministry, 57.2 percent of government-funded medical institutions at the grassroots level have implemented the system, which stipulates drugs be sold at prices initially government-set.

Figures from the National Development and Reform Commission show the price of basic medicines dropped 30 percent after the system took effect.

The country's basic medicine system, first implemented in 2009, currently covers 307 medicines.

Source：Chinese Food Safety

China's agriculture 60 years:  from self-sufficiency to grain contribution 

(Xinhua )  After 60 years of struggle and development, the Chinese people have bid farewell to a life of poverty and the lack of food. The grain self-sufficiency rate has remained above 95 percent for years.

In 2007, rural per capita net income has grown to 4,140 yuan (606 U.S. dollars), five times that of 1978. The total volume of grain yield in 2008 reached 525 million tons, compared to 113 million tons in 1949.

A farmer checks on the progress of her rice crop in Qionghai, Hainan province. [Source: China Daily]

In 2005, China halted receiving grain assistance from other countries and donated 577,000 tons of grain instead, becoming the third largest grain donator in the world, just after the U.S. and the European Union.

At present, the Chinese per capita nutrition intake has risen above the world average level. The number of poor in rural areas has declined from 250 million in 1978 to today's 14.79 million, making China one of the few countries to have reduced poverty levels in its population.

Henk-Jan Brinkman, senior economic analyst with the World Food Program, said China had "set an example" for the elimination of poverty and hunger.

Fang Cheng, senior economist at the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), said: "China has made tremendous progress in poverty alleviation since the country adopted its policy of reform and opening-up in 1978."

"As the most populous country in the world, China has successfully fed a population making up about 20 percent of the world's total. The country's significance for the world's grain security is self-evident," he said.

The credit goes primarily to government-backed policies on the Three Agricultural Problems (agriculture, rural areas, farmers), which have increased public investment and promoted technological advancement, Fang added.

China's strong technological strength has boosted three major grain productions. Corn's yield per unit has increased from 1.18 tons per hectare in 1961 to 5.15 tons in 2007, rice has been raised to 6.43 tons per hectare from two tons, wheat is up from 0.56 ton to 4.61 tons.

As David Bradford, a geosciences professor at the Pennsylvania State University put it, a healthy food system consists of three elements: investment for agricultural research & development, infrastructure construction, and a reasonable food pricing system.

Farmers harvest wheat in Shandong  province

 China has made remarkable achievements in all the three areas, he said.

The Chinese government has put food safety as a basic human right, and is taking measures to encourage agriculture to transform from the current self-sufficiency and half self-sufficiency modes to large-scale commercial production, and from traditional agriculture to modern agriculture.

The new target of the Chinese government is to increase grain production to 540 million tons by 2020, and double Chinese farmers' 2008 annual net income.

To reach the goal, the Chinese government raised its agricultural budget by 30.3 percent in 2007 and 37.9 percent in 2008 and it is expected to rise another 20.2 percent this year.

"No other big country, barring India, has increased spending on farming so much," said the Financial Times. However, it also warned of severe challenges to the planned crop output increase, including water scarcity, loss of fertile land, slowing agricultural productivity growth, and climate change.

the local villager of Caigungtang Township in Lhasa is smiling after reaping wheat.   Source:  China Tibet              Information Center

The Chinese government has long realized and prepared for the problems. In the Outlines Regarding the State Mid- and Long-Term Grain Security Plan for 2008-2020 Period, the government listed a series of challenges the Chinese agriculture is facing, including the fact that China's grain supply and demand will be in a tight balance for a long period, deficits in agricultural product trade, annual increases in the import of soybean and cotton and rising prices of major agricultural and sideline products. "Agriculture remains the weak part of national economy," the outlines said.

Andrzej Kwiecinski, a leading economist with the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), once pointed out that, although China's agricultural development still faces some problems, such as a large income gap between farmers and city dwellers and lagging investment, he still feels optimistic about the sector's future, due to its amazing achievements in the past.

The development of Chinese agriculture has also provided a guide for other developing countries. A new report from an African agricultural technology fund pointed out that the prosperity of China's agriculture has "provided experiences for Africa."

Currently China has set up or is setting up more than 20 agricultural technology demonstration centers around the world, and will double the number of experts to be dispatched overseas. The seed planted to feed the Chinese is also likely to feed people in other developing countries.

Doors open for beef in China!

July 15, 2010

China has agreed to resume beef imports from Canada, seven years after banning the trade as a result of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) concerns.

According to a statement jointly made by China's General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine and Ministry of Agriculture on 2 July, beef imports from Canada will resume in stages, starting with boneless beef from animals under 30 months of age and beef tallow for industrial use.

According to Global Trade Atlas, China imported 221 tonnes of frozen boneless beef from Canada in 2002 - 2% the total China beef import market - before being barred in May 2003

Source: MLA.com

Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz hosted a Canadian beef barbecue at Shanghai World Expo 2010 with Her Excellency the Right Honourable Michaëlle Jean, Governor General of Canada in celebration of Canada and China's strong trade relationship.  Also on hand to serve up the first Canadian beef in China in seven years were Canada's Commissioner General for Expo 2010 Mark Rowswell - a famous media personality in China - and CBEF Board Chair Gib Drury.

China's agriculture will be severely affected by climate change

Extreme droughts could more than triple crop losses in northeast China, a McKinsey study says.

By Rie Jerichow 

Recently, two studies have focused on the impact of climate changes in China. Both agree that the world’s number one emitter of greenhouse gases will experience unstable weather and a dramatic drop of major crops production in the future.

Stable grain production is important for China economic development. Source:China Meteorological News Press

The Chinese grain production is likely to drop ten percent when temperature rises by one degree Celsius. The rice growing period of China will generally shorten seven to eight days if temperature rises one degree Celsius.

Drought is one of the most threat to agriculture production Source:China Meteorological News Press

That will lower the quality of rice, and if current grain production mechanism will not change up to 2030, the production potential of crop farming will drop five to 30 percent, says Zheng Guoguang, head of the China Meteorological Administration, in an article published on the agency’s website.

"If extreme climatic disasters occur twice or more within five years – for example, major drought over two or three years – then the impact on our country's economic and social development would be incalculable," writes Zheng, according to Reuters.

A sketch map showing the drought situation in China in early February 2009 Source:China Meteorological News Press

It is imperative to take active and effective measures to tackle climate change, the article on the China Meteorological Institute website concludes.

Weather modification become more important in coping with meteorological disasters. Source:China Meteorological News Press

Another McKinsey & Co. study estimates that extreme drought caused by a "high climate change scenario" could more than triple crop losses in northeast China to 13.8 million metric tons, or 12 percent of the total, by 2030. This scenario assumes a doubling in severity and frequency of extreme drought, it says in the report, according to Bloomberg.

Chinese premier stresses cooperation against climate change Source: Xinhua

However, the accuracy of predictions made so far ahead is difficult to judge, says Ma Wenfeng, a researcher at Beijing Orient Agribusiness Consultant Ltd., according to the news agency.

"For a country the size of China, it’s difficult to tell whether certain weather trends will reduce or increase grains output in 50 years... Some places may have reduction while other areas which previously might not be suitable for grain production can become grain producer," Ma Wenfeng says, according to Bloomberg.     

China Vows to Change Agriculture Development Partern

BEIJING, Dec. 7, 2009 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese government pledged Monday to push forward the transformation of its economic development pattern next year while maintaining stable and comparatively fast economic growth.

Participants at the three-day annual Central Economic Work Conference agreed that the global financial crisis highlighted the urgency to transform China's economic development pattern.

They agreed that the government should coordinate efforts to maintain stable and comparatively fast economic growth and speed up the transformation of the economic development mode.

The Central Economic Work Conference, held once a year to set the tone for next year's economic development, comprises policy-making officials from central and provincial-level governments, including President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao.

The conference outlined six major tasks for next year's economic work: to improve macro-regulation to ensure stable and relatively fast economic growth, advance economic structure adjustment to lift quality and efficiency of economic growth, boost rural development momentum, deepen reform and opening up to enhance momentum and vigor of economic growth, promote stable export increase, improve people's livelihood and maintain social stability.

The government would continue efforts to boost domestic demand, especially expand people's consumer demand, and make consumption contribute more to boost economic growth, according to a statement released after the conference.

The government would also seek to push recovery of exports and promote balanced international trade, it said.

More efforts would be spent to deepen economic system reform and enhance the momentum and vigor of economic growth.

The government vowed to balance the tasks of ensuring a stable and relatively fast economic growth, adjusting economic structure and managing inflation expectations next year.

This was the second time the government mentioned about managing inflationary prospects in a national event after a State Council meeting in October picked the issue as one of the key points in macro-regulation for the rest of 2009.

The country would maintain the continuity and stability of macro-economic policy and continue implementing the proactive fiscal policy and moderately easy monetary policy.

  Introduction to China Agricultural Co-operatives

China to plough extra 20% into agricultural production amid fears that climate change will spark food crisis

China will increase spending on agricultural production by 20% this year amid warnings that climate change could spark a future food crisis .

Prime minister Wen Jiabao’s announcement of an extra 121 billion yuan (£13bn) to boost farm yields and raise rural incomes was a central part of his annual budget speech at the Great Hall of the People.

The government’s spending pledge also included extra money for renewable energy and improved power efficiency, but these environmental benefits were outweighed by moves to boost overall domestic consumption and a likely emphasis on intensive agriculture.

The short-term aim is to ease the impact of the economic crisis on rural dwellers, who account for more than half of the 1.3bn population. This group is considered a potential source of social instability because the average rural income is just a third that of the city. Wen said grain prices would be increased as an incentive for farmers to produce more.

Many Chinese people can remember the famines of the early 1960s which killed tens of millions of people. More recently, improved farming policies and technologies have given China a high level of self-sufficiency and growth. But the country’s top economic planning body warned that this would be hard to maintain.

Northern China, which accounts for 58% of the country’s food production, suffered its worst drought in half a century earlier this year, according to local media. Rising temperatures and over-use of water resources has continued to cause desertification, cutting the cropland available.

In the face of this, and continued industrial and urban development, it will be a major task for the coming year to be keep the area of arable land above 120 million hectares, Wen told the 3,000 delegates of the National People’s Congress, China’s parliament. This is the minimum that the government has long set for food security.

While China remains committed to high economic growth, and the consequent greenhouse gas emissions, it will continue to boost environmental programmes as well. Wen said spending would increase on wind, solar and nuclear power, as well as research on “clean coal” technology. China’s energy efficiency has improved 10% over the last three years. The output of carbon and sulphur emissions grew 5% slower than the economy in 2008.

The National Development and Reform Commission said China would introduce a regional climate change programme, shut small coal mines and power plants and continue to experiment with cap and trade emissions programmes.

China was praised for the large green component of the $586bn fiscal stimulus package it announced last November. According to the HSBC Climate Change Centre of Excellence, investment in energy efficiency measures, renewable technology and other efforts to ameliorate the impact of climate change accounted for more than 30% of the package.

The CCAgr is a leading organization that promotes Canada-China cooperation and exchange in agriculture, agri-food and life science industries. 

China finally grants Canada Approved Destination Status!

Prime Minister Stephen Harper today announced that the Government of China has granted Canada Approved Destination Status, a designation that makes it easier for Chinese nationals to visit Canada.  The Prime Minister made the announcement in Beijing following his meeting with Wen Jiabao, Premier of China.

In 2008, visits to Canada by Chinese citizens were up 5.3 per cent from the year before, for a total of 159,000.  Chinese travellers had the highest average length of stay (28 nights) in Canada and spent more than visitors from any other country ($1,648.51).  According to a Conference Board of Canada survey, approved destination status is expected to boost the yearly rate of travel to Canada from China by up to 50 per cent by 2015.

China Agriculture

BEIJING, Oct 23, 2009 – Chinese buyers have cancelled at least two cargoes of Canadian canola for November and December shipment on worries that government authorities may hold cargoes over blackleg disease, one industry source said on Friday.

Canada is the world’s biggest exporter of canola, crushed for oil used in the vegetable oil and biofuel markets. China was Canada’s top canola seed importer last year, buying 2.8 million tonnes, though it is an inconsistent buyer year to year.

But Chinese authorities have told Canada they will not accept canola seed from Nov.15 without a certificate showing it is free of blackleg. The restriction covers canola seed used in oil and meal processing, but not seed meant for replanting.

“Some buyers learned the problem last week and have washed out two cargoes,” said the source, who declined to be identified.

ICE Canada November canola closed down 4 percent on Thursday with traders saying the news led to the drop.

Blackleg can reduce yield or kill plants. It is common in Canada canola seed, but is also present in much of the world, including China, so it should not be regulated, the chief of the Canola Council of Canada, JoAnne Buth, said in an interview.

“There should not be this kind of stringent requirements for something that’s going for processing,” Buth said. “It doesn’t seem legitimate.”

More cancellations could happen as the disease is common in Canadian canola crop. Chinese buyers have already booked more than 1 million tonnes of new canola crop from Canada, said one trader with an international trading house in China.

Traders said the move would stop imports completely. Chinese buyers said they did not dare to book more new cargoes.

Two Chinese buyers told Reuters they were not clear whether the date referred to was the loading date in Canada or the cargoes’ arrival date.

Chinese quarantine authorities have not informed buyers in China and could not be reached immediately for comment.

“Some cargoes cannot be washed out, who will take them? We would see how authorities tighten inspection,” said one Chinese buyer.

The move came as Chinese farmers plant rapeseed, a crop Beijing has been buying for state reserves from farmers over the past two years to try to shore up prices.

But cheap imports had pressured domestic prices of the cooking oil, popular in the country’s south.

The news has driven up domstic prices of rapeseed oil futures, with Zhengzhou prices rising 2 percent in morning trade.

China’s rapeseed imports jumped 265 percent in the first eight months of this year to 2.19 million tonnes, after a previous record year high.

At the same time, China’s record harvest prompted the government to build large rapeseed oil reserves to support domestic prices.

The CCAgr is a leading organization that promotes Canada-China cooperation and exchange in agriculture, agri-food and life science industries.

For further information, contact Youming Zhao at www.ccagr.com.

More Reading：

Why the Chinese Particularly Like Canadians?

Our Client Testimony

China Agriculture Shows, Conferences, Fairs and Exhibitions

Canada - China  Agriculture and Food Development Exchange Centre on Media

Our Export & Import Assistance

Canadian Agritours to China

Canada-China Agri - Events

Advisory Team

President's Bio

News Releases

Canada -China Agricultural and Food Research & Development Support