China’s grain harvests continue to get bigger

BOFIT Viikkokatsaus / BOFIT Weekly Review 2015/51

​China’s National Bureau of Statistics reports that the 2015 grain harvest rose 2 % from last year to 620 million metric tons. The 2014 grain harvest also increased 1 % from 2013. Harvests of China’s top grain crops (maize, rice and wheat) were up 3 %. While the total harvest has increased for over ten years in a row, this year’s growth was exceptional. Officials say this is due to wider adoption of new production methods and favourable weather. Fields have also been repurposed from cotton to grain crops in some provinces.

The cultivated land area for grains increased slightly last year to 113 million hectares. Constraints on available farmland have become one of the biggest problems facing Chinese agriculture. The amount and quality of available farmland reflect China’s widespread environmental problems, which have been caused by industrial pollution and excessive use of fertilizers and pesticides. Soil contamination and lack of access to clean irrigation water limit agricultural productivity. The small size of the average farm also hurts farm productivity. Farm subsidies support the raising of crops in areas poorly suited for farming or a particular crop. Chinese grain production is centred in the eastern provinces. Nearly 30 % of the total harvest comes from the Heilongjiang, Henan and Shandong provinces.

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