China Assured of Grain Self-SufficiencyChina is assured of self-sufficiency of grain supply despite increasing pressure of population growth, Monday's Chinadaily reported.According to the English-language newspaper, China is expected to import 20 million to 30 million tons of grain every year in the first decades of the 21 century. The newspaper said that that by using advanced farming techniques, the country will be able to increase grain output per hectare by 1.5 tons. The per hectare output of two-thirds of China's grain field is four-plus tons at present, far below the average output in western countries. With the population peaking at 1.6 billion in 2030, China's total demand for grain will be approximately 640 million tons every year. Fifty percent of the demand will be used for feed. The country is to slow down the rapidly increasing demand of grain used for feed by promoting scientific and technological advances in aquatic and animal farming, according to Mei Fangquan, an expert with the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences. As people eat more meat, poultry and fruits, the directly consumed per capita grain ration were on the decline over the past two decades, dropping from 253 kilograms in 1985 to 234 kg in 1995 and to 213 kg this year, according to the newspaper. |
| People's Daily Online --- http://www.peopledaily.com.cn/english/ |