China to maintain high grain output in 2014-2023

BEIJING - China will maintain a high rate of self-sufficiency in major grain output and realize the food security target for the next ten years, according to an official report published Sunday.

The report on the outlook for China's agricultural development from 2014 to 2023 was conducted by the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS).

Xu Shiwei, director of the Agriculture Information Institute under the CAAS, said that the output of China's three main grain crops -- rice, wheat and corn -- will achieve a high rate of self-sufficiency during the next decade.

Imports for meat and dairy products will see rising growth, while slower growth will be seen in soybean imports, and cooking oil imports will decline, Xu said.

The report also mentioned that the 3.5-percent annual growth rate in domestic dairy production will exceed that of other major agricultural products in China in the 2014-2023 period.

With China's large population, the task of simply feeding the people remains a high priority, according to a statement issued after a central rural work conference attended by Chinese President Xi Jinping, Premier Li Keqiang and other senior leaders last December.

"The bowls of the Chinese, in any situation, must rest soundly in our own hands. Our bowls should be filled mainly with Chinese grain. Only when a country is basically self-sufficient in food can it take the initiative in food security and grasp the overall situation for economic and social growth," said the statement.

China has set a red-line guarantee that arable land shall never shrink to less than 1.8 billion mu (120 million hectares). The line should be strictly followed, the statement stressed.