World Grain - April 2019 - 18

COUNTRY FOCUS

FOCUS ON

CHINA

With massive population and growing
economy, China plays key role in
global grain market
by Chris Lyddon

With a massive population and growing economy, China is
a hugely important player on the world's grain and oilseeds
market, notably as the world's largest oilseeds importer.
The International Grains Council (IGC) forecasts China's
total grains output for 2018-19 at 3 97.3 million tonnes, down
from
. million the year before. The figure includes
.
million tonnes of wheat, down from 13 4.3 million in 2017-18.
This year's corn crop is put at 257.3 million tonnes, down
from 259.1 million the year before. Barley production is put
at 1.8 million tonnes, down from the previous year's 2 million. The 2018-19 sorghum crop is put at 3 .1 million tonnes,
down from 3 .3 million the previous year. China is slated to
produce an unchanged crop of 500,000 tonnes of oats and an
unchanged rye crop of 600,000 tonnes.
China's rice crop in 2018-19 is forecast at 148.5 million
tonnes, down from 148.9 million estimated for 2017-18.
In 2018-19, the country is forecast to produce 16 million
tonnes of soybeans (up from the previous year's 15.3
million) and 13 million tonnes of rapeseed
(down from 13 .3 million.)
The IGC forecasts China's total
2018-19 grains imports at 17 million tonnes, down from 22.1
million the year before. The
country is seen exporting a
total of 500,000 tonnes of
grain, unchanged compared
with 2017-18.
Forecast 2018-19 imports include 4 million
tonnes of wheat, up from
3 .7 million tonnes the year
before. Wheat exports are
forecast at an unchanged
400,000 tonnes.
For maize, the forecast import
figure is . million tonnes in
,
18

KEY FACTS
Capital: Beijing
Population: 1,384,688,986 (July 2018 est.)
Religions: Buddhist 18.2%, Christian 5.1%, Muslim
1.8%, folk religion 21.9%, Hindu < 0.1%, Jewish <
0.1%, other 0.7% (includes Daoist (Taoist)), unaffiliated 52.2% (2010 est.).
Location: Eastern Asia, bordering the East China
Sea, Korea Bay, Yellow Sea, and South China Sea, between North Korea and Vietnam.
Government: Communist party-led state. Chief of
state: President Xi Jinping (since March 14, 2013);
head of government: Premier Li Keqiang (since March
16, 2013).
Economy: Since the late 1970s, China has moved
from a closed, centrally planned system to a more
market-oriented one that plays a major global role.
China has implemented reforms in a gradualist fashion, resulting in efficiency gains that have contributed
to a more than tenfold increase in GDP since 1978.
Reforms began with the phaseout of collectivized
agriculture, and expanded to include the gradual liberalization of prices, fiscal decentralization, increased
autonomy for state enterprises, growth of the private
sector, development of stock markets and a modern
banking system, and opening to foreign trade and
investment. Measured on a purchasing power parity
basis that adjusts for price differences, China in 2017
stood as the largest economy in the world, surpassing
the United States in 2014 for the first time in modern
history. China became the world's largest exporter in
2010, and the largest trading nation in 2013. Still,
China's per capita income is below the world average. Economic development has progressed further
in coastal provinces than in the interior, and by 2016
more than 169.3 million migrant workers and their
dependents had relocated to urban areas to find
work. One consequence of China's population control "one-child policy," relaxed in 2016 to permit all
families to have two children, is that it is now one of
world's the most rapidly aging countries. It continues
to lose arable land because of erosion and urbanization. The government's 13th Five-Year Plan, unveiled
in 2016, emphasizes increasing innovation and boost
ing domestic consumption to make the economy less
dependent on government investment and exports.
However, China has made more progress on subsidizing innovation than rebalancing the economy. Beijing
has committed to giving the market a more decisive
role in allocating resources, but the government's
policies continue to favor state-owned enterprises.
GDP per capita: $16,700 (2017 est.); inflation:
1.6% (2017 est.); unemployment: 3.9% (2017 est.).
Currency: Renminbi yuan (RMB): 6.7 yuan equal 1
U.S. dollar (March 14, 2019).
Exports: $2.216 trillion (2017 est.): electrical and
other machinery, including computers and telecommunications equipment, apparel, furniture, textiles.
Imports: $1.74 trillion (2017 est.): electrical and
other machinery, including computers and telecommunications equipment, apparel, furniture, textiles.
Agriculture: 7.9% (2017 est.) of GDP and 27.7%
of the labor force.
Internet: Code: .cn; 730,723,960 (July 2016 est.)
users.
Source : CIA World Factbook

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