Promoting GM food may improve global competitiveness
China's long-term grain situation is worrisome as the country's grain imports grow despite the nation's increasing annual grain yields, said authorities on Tuesday.
"China's grain security situation does not look good as it will continue facing dual challenges, namely rigid growth of food consumption and inflexible restraints on food production, in the long run," Ren Zhengxiao, head of the State Administration of Grain, told a press conference on Tuesday.
Since 2004, China's annual grain production has experienced extraordinary growth for 12 consecutive years, with the government's purchase volume and stock of grain rising accordingly, Ren said.
However, China's grain production failed to meet the demand in 10 of the 12 years, causing an annual gap of 9.9 billion kilograms, Ren noted.
Meanwhile, the huge price advantage of foreign grain underpins China's mounting grain imports.
According to National Grain and Oil Information Center statistics, the price of domestic wheat is 823 yuan ($126.74) per ton higher than that of imported wheat of the same quality. The price difference between domestic and foreign rice is 790 yuan per ton.
China's grain prices now are relatively high in the global market due to the high cost of production and government policies to control grain stocks and support prices, Ren said.
Echoing Ren, Ma Wenfeng, a senior analyst at Beijing Orient Agribusiness Consultants, also blamed the lower agricultural productivity for China's higher price in the global market.
Ma told the Global Times that government policies have had a minor impact on the improvement of agricultural productivity, including progress in planting technologies.
Ren said it is unrealistic and impossible for China to solve its food problem through imports, considering the country's huge grain consumption and food shortage in over 70 countries around the globe.
Agriculture experts backed the official's view, suggesting that promoting genetically modified (GM) technology might help improve the domestic grain's competitiveness.
"The industrialization of GM food is an important technological option to ensure future food security," Luo Yunbo, a GM expert at China Agricultural University, told the Global Times on Tuesday.
Promoting GM food may help lower the cost of agricultural production and consequently decrease the price of domestic food and improve its competitiveness, said Yan Jianbing, a professor specializing in crop genetic improvement at Huazhong Agricultural University, adding that "planting insect-resistant corn saves labor and pesticide costs."
Earlier in April, China's Ministry of Agriculture said the country will push ahead with the industrialization of GM cash and industrial crops, including corn and cotton between 2016 and 2020.
