Peking University scholar: in the medium and long term, China’s grain ration security is fully guaranteed

Recently, the state has sounded the alarm for the phenomenon of Chinese people’s food waste. Coupled with the news that the national wheat purchase volume has decreased year on year, the national food security issue has attracted media and social attention. Huang Jikun, director of the China Agricultural Policy Research Center of Peking University, said in an exclusive interview with China Science Daily that “while attracting readers’ attention, the media will intentionally or unintentionally mislead readers and the public, believing that the central government emphasizes reducing food waste at this time, which may lead to food security problems.” In his opinion, reducing food waste is necessary and needs to be advocated by the whole society, which is conducive to reducing the total demand for food and alleviating the pressure on resources and environment. Reducing the waste of food and beverage needs to change people’s consumption behavior, which needs a long transformation process. Huang Jikun further analyzed that in recent years, the wheat purchased by the state at the lowest purchase price of wheat decreased year on year, which is normal, because the recent market price of wheat is slightly higher than the national minimum purchase price. It is not appropriate to analyze the recent central government’s emphasis on reducing waste of food and beverage work and the decline in wheat purchase as “the central government has constantly sounded the alarm bell for the problem of eating”. Huang Jikun pointed out that “the minimum purchase price policy of grain is designed in this way, that is, when the market price is lower than the minimum purchase price, the state will purchase the grain to be sold by farmers at the minimum purchase price, so that farmers can benefit from the national policy; when the market price is higher than the national minimum purchase price, the national minimum purchase price policy for grain will not need to be launched, and farmers can pay a higher price Market prices are sold in the market, so that farmers can benefit from the market mechanism. ” Huang Jikun said that in the near future, China’s food security has been fully guaranteed. In 2019, China’s total grain production reached a record high of 664 million tons, with an average per capita of 474 kg, significantly higher than the internationally recognized basic safety line of 400 kg per capita grain. The current ration supply far exceeds the demand, and rice and wheat stocks even exceed the annual production. After the outbreak of the epidemic, the central government strengthened the implementation of the “grain governor responsibility system” to stabilize the area of spring sown grain. The total summer grain output in 2020 will increase by 0.9% compared with that in 2019. < / P > < p > “of course, we must also be soberly aware that recent changes in the international situation, such as the outbreak of the new global epidemic, have increased the uncertainties and uncontrollable factors of global food security and international market.” Huang Jikun said. In the medium and long term, the safety of ration in China is absolutely guaranteed. Both the per capita demand and the total demand for rations have declined, but the demand for high-quality rice and special wheat has increased gradually. According to his analysis, the main problems facing food security in the near future are the quality assurance of rations and the arduous task of going to the reservoir area. Before the summer grain harvest, rice and wheat stocks have exceeded the production in 2019, and even more than the annual consumption. This year’s summer grain harvest is bumper, and the output has set a new record. When the market price is higher than the minimum purchase price, the pressure and difficulty of removing inventory of rice and wheat will be greater. < / P > < p > different from the multi-channel de stocking method of corn, the per capita consumption of rice and wheat as rations is difficult to grow, and the expired rations are subject to great loss and food safety risks, so it is more difficult to de inventory than corn in the past few years. At the same time, speeding up the de stocking process will significantly affect the grain market price and farmers’ enthusiasm for growing grain; and slowing down the de stocking process may lead to the quality decline of rice and wheat and even food safety problems. In terms of rations, he suggested that the supply side structural reform should be promoted in the near future to promote the production of high-quality rice and special wheat, and improve the effective supply capacity of rations. It is necessary to establish an efficient grain inventory security system and a scientific strategic grain ration reserve mechanism, and steadily promote the de stocking of wheat and rice in the near future; start the reform of rice and wheat purchase and sales, establish the mechanism of income compensation and high quality and good price for rice and wheat producers, and explore the reform from the lowest purchase price to the income compensation policy. In addition, it is suggested that the reform of purchase and sale of rice and wheat should refer to the “separation of price compensation” of corn, but after the separation of price and compensation, more income subsidies should be given to the producers of rice and wheat; at the same time, the production and market environment with high quality and good price should be created to promote the production of high-quality rice and special wheat.