China News Service, August 26. Tang Ke, Director of the Department of Market and Information Technology of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, said on the 26th that from the perspective of the operation of China’s grain market during the first half of this year, due to sufficient grain reserves, the level of grain and oil processing and conversion capacity is high. With strong market regulation and emergency support capabilities, coupled with a well-developed logistics distribution system, the market supply of domestic terminal grain and oil products is continuously abundant, and prices are basically stable.
Data Map: The Land of Harvest. Photo by Wang Zhongju
On the morning of the 26th, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs held a press conference on the current grain market operation and production. Tang Ke said that due to the impact of the new crown pneumonia epidemic, the impact of floods and the volatility of international food prices, the operation of my country's grain market has experienced periodic fluctuations, which have attracted widespread attention from the society. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs continued to strengthen the monitoring of grain prices and the tracking and analysis of market supply and demand. On the whole, the current grain prices in my country are steadily rising, with different trends among varieties, and price fluctuations in different links. In July, the average price of rice, wheat, and corn in the three grain trade markets was 122.4 yuan per hundred catties, up 0.2% month-on-month and 1.7% year-on-year. Among them, the price of rice increased the least, followed by wheat, and the price of corn increased significantly. Food prices in the wholesale sector have increased significantly.
Tang Ke pointed out that my country's food prices remain stable on the whole, supported by three fundamental factors:
First, production is stable and improving. The key to the stability of the grain market is production. There have been good harvests of summer grain and early rice this year. According to data from the National Bureau of Statistics, the output of summer grains this year was 285.6 billion jin, an increase of 2.42 billion jin; the output of early rice was 54.6 billion jin, an increase of 2.06 billion jin, and the output resumed after a decline for seven consecutive years. The annual rice and corn production mainly depends on autumn grains. Judging from the situation of the Ministry of Agriculture, the area of autumn grain has increased steadily this year. Although local droughts and floods have been severe, the recovery of production after the disaster is timely and effective. The growth of autumn grain is generally good, and the trend of stable and good grain production has not changed. If there are no major disasters in the later period, the whole year will be a bumper year.
The second is that grain stocks are abundant. With grain in hand, I don't panic. In recent years, my country’s ration inventory has continued to maintain a high level. The current national rice and wheat inventory levels are roughly equivalent to the annual consumption of urban and rural residents. Although the corn inventory is digested quickly, the market supply is guaranteed. After the outbreak of the new crown pneumonia epidemic, relevant departments have strengthened the release of reserves and emergency supply in a timely manner. The market supply is stable and orderly, and there is no shortage of food and oil in the market.
Third, consumption is relatively stable. As a daily necessities of life, consumption of grain is relatively rigid, and generally does not decrease or increase significantly during the year. Affected by the epidemic this year, home consumption of rations has increased, but consumption outside has decreased, and there has been little change in total consumption. After the epidemic prevention and control situation continues to improve, corn feed and deep processing consumption has recovered well, but actual demand has increased. It is also relatively stable. In the early stage, some consumers and traders were hoarding grain, which will drive market demand fluctuations in the short term, but it will not change the trend of grain consumption. In other words, changes in short-term food demand will not have a sustained impact on food prices.
Tang Ke said that from the perspective of the later trend, China's grain production and supply are completely guaranteed. We have a good foundation for ensuring the stable operation of grain prices. In addition, the supply of most major agricultural products such as corn and soybeans in the world is sufficient and the prices are low. Domestic grain prices lack the conditions for a sharp rise. It is expected that with the successive harvest of autumn grains, China's grain market is expected to remain basically stable. In the next step, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs will follow the decisions and deployments of the Party Central Committee and the State Council, based on disaster relief to win a bumper harvest, make every effort to capture a good harvest of autumn grain this year, and cooperate with relevant departments to regulate the grain market to ensure the "rice bags" and "vegetable baskets" of urban and rural residents. Provide strong support for the "six stability" work and the implementation of the "six guarantees" task.
"Here, I would like to emphasize one more point. In the context of the global pandemic of the new crown pneumonia epidemic, the uncertainty in the operation of domestic and foreign agricultural products markets has increased. Some consumers are buying more grains and oils out of risk prevention. Some traders and farmers It is understandable to stock up more food in the expectation of the market outlook, but we must avoid following the trend to prevent waste caused by improper storage, and also prevent losses due to later price fluctuations." Tang Ke said, in fact, from this year During the first half of the epidemic period, China’s grain market operation situation, due to sufficient grain reserves, high level of grain and oil processing and transformation capacity, strong grain market regulation and emergency protection capabilities, coupled with a developed logistics distribution system, the market supply of domestic terminal grain and oil products is continuous If there is ample, the price is basically stable. There is no need for consumers to be overly anxious or even panic buying. They can be more calm and calm.