Precaution needed for food security

Given the influences of the COVID-19 epidemic and the Ukraine crisis on world food security, China has every reason to take precautions to minimize the impact on its food security.

As the global food supply chain is shrinking and food trade is contracting, China must base its food production on the domestic market, and ensure that the Chinese people have enough to eat at all times. It should give more weight to the development of the grain industry. Measures should be taken to stimulate local grain production, closely monitor the grain situation and strengthen guidance at the grassroots level to ensure that grain output does not decrease this summer. Experts estimate that with oil prices rising above $80 a barrel, demands for raw material for the grain crop-based ethanol industry will swell.

China should also speed up the establishment of a long-term guarantee mechanism by increasing special transfer payments to big grain-growing areas to ensure that they do not suffer financial losses.

China should make grain cooperation an important part of the cooperation involving the Belt and Road Initiative, and encourage domestic enterprises to invest in regions involved in the Belt and Road Initiative to jointly develop local grain resources in a rational way.

China can also strengthen cooperation with Southeast Asia under the framework of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership and expand import channels for rice and wheat. At the same time, it should strengthen the construction of grain supply chains, advance the construction of ports and canals with Central American countries, to enhance the management capacity of the international grain supply chain and ensure that imported grain can be shipped back.