Research report on China's grain industry - 2010-2012

In China, grain generally refers to 4 crops, namely rice, wheat, corn and soybean. The three major types of grain in China are rice, wheat and corn.

In 2009, the yield of grain in China was about 520-530 million tons, increasing slightly over 2008. In recent years, the grain yield in China has been steady while the price has been inclined to rise. At the beginning of 2009, northern production areas of wheat suffered serious drought and the stricken areas went beyond 23 million acres. In 2010, such natural disasters as drought reduced the yield of grain in parts of China. It is predicted that in 2010 the yield of grain in China will decrease over 2009, and the grain prices in China will continue rising in 2011-2012.

The policies of cancelling agricultural taxes issued by the Chinese government and dispensing subvention in recent years are favourable to the grain production. However, the shift of rural workforce to cities and high prices of chemical fertilizers and pesticides which made peasants felt that farming was unprofitable, kept China's grain production from a rapid increase. There are at least 5,000 local grain processing enterprises in China. Meanwhile, many international grain processing tycoons, including ABCD (i.e. the top 4 tycoons), have entered Chinese market. As a result, the competition of China's grain market has been increasingly fierce. Read more...

This blog is written by Martin Little The Global Miller, published and supported by the GFMT Magazine from Perendale Publishers.