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China's domestic grain market has remained robust despite a drop in global yields due to lingering drought in some major grain exporters such as the United States and Russia.
This summer, China has seen a bumper harvest in wheat and rice, marking year-on-year increases of 8.4 million tons and 9 million tons, respectively, in the country's summer grain purchasing, according to Nie Zhenbang, former head of China's State Administration of Grain.
The total grain output in the first half of 2012 reached 129.95 million tons, marking a 2.8 percent jump year-on-year, according to China's National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
Experts said China has been maintaining a self-sufficient grain strategy and over 95 percent of rice and wheat has been produced domestically during recent years, which has helped the country resist the influence of global fluctuations.
China embraced an eighth consecutive year of grain production growth last year under the central government's policies to mobilize farmers' initiative to farm, such as raising the minimum purchasing price several times.
The country is expected to produce 13 million tons of soybeans in 2012, while imports are expected to reach about 55 million tons, according to the Office of Central Rural Work Leading Group. Moreover, China has transformed from a net exporter of corn into a net importer of corn.
Thursday August 27, 2012/ Ministry of Agriculture/ China.
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