China's move to scrap its annual stockpiling programme for soyabeans shows its grain security policy is being redefined and could pave the way for liberalisation of the corn trade, the founder of the country's largest animal feed producer said. China, which has long been obsessed with food security, finally scrapped its stockpiling system for soyabeans and cotton this year, after it failed to boost planting by farmers while also pushing domestic prices well above international markets.
"The scrapping of the soya stockpiling program shows China is moving towards the direction of separating food and feed grains," Liu Yonghao, Chairman of the New Hope Group, told Reuters in an interview on Thursday. New Hope is the largest consumer of corn in China and processed more than 18 million tonnes of corn into feed last year. The firm is also one of China's largest suppliers of meat, eggs and dairy products.
"This will give farmers more choices on what they should produce and will pave the way for the opening up of overseas trade for feed grains, such as corn," he said. China, which became a net corn importer in 2010, currently maintains a quota system over most grains imports in an attempt to grow almost all of its consumption domestically. But Chinese experts are increasingly arguing that growing grains, which require vast swathes of arable land and water, is less efficient than importing them. They also say it would be better to invest more in labour-intensive processing industries than farming. "Opening up the feed market will help to transform China's farming sector as well as boost food supplies," said Liu, a member of China's largest political advisory body and an influential voice on rural and agricultural issues.
Comments
Comments are closed.