News Corona crisis
China: no food crisis
The coronavirus will not lead to a food crisis in China, Han Changfu, China's agriculture and rural affairs minister, said at the National People's Congress in Beijing on Friday.
This was a response to the United Nations' warning of the growing threat of food shortages due to global supply chain disruption. The food supply is something many are concerned about due to the corona crisis. Han Changfu said: "Some countries have more food reserves and some have limited food exports, so many people are concerned about a possible food crisis in our country."
According to Changfu, food security will remain guaranteed in China and there will be no food crisis. The minister emphasized that Chinese grain production is sufficient to supply the population all year round and that pig production is also slowly recovering.
Grain production
China's grain production is expected to exceed 2020 million tons for the whole of 650, just like in previous years, according to Changfu. “Last year, grain production reached a total of 664 million tons, crossing the 650 million tons mark for the fifth consecutive year,” Changfu said. He also said that China's area of high-quality cropland will be expanded by 5,33 million hectares this year, aiming for even more stable grain production by 2020.
In March, there were still fears of a possible rice shortage in China. This after Cambodia and Vietnam, two of China's main suppliers, imposed export bans on grain to protect their national reserves. However, these concerns dissipated after the export bans were lifted earlier this month.
Pig sector
The minister expects domestic pig production to continue to recover as the number of breeding sows increases. He did say that the country must step up its fight against African swine fever because it is the biggest concern for the size of the pig herd.
Pork prices skyrocketed with the stagnation of the pig population. However, Changfu does not expect pig prices to rise significantly again as pig production gradually recovers.
The recovery of pig production is an ongoing process and the authorities are working hard to develop a vaccine against the disease. In addition, strong action is being taken against the illegal transport of pigs, which resulted in many cases of infection some time ago.
Chanti Oussoren
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