China Agri News Week 34, 2020
This is the news overview of week 34 from the agricultural team of the Netherlands Embassy in Beijing.
Agricultural Water Pricing Reform Area Continues to Expand
Covering over 19 million hectares of farmland by 2019, the ongoing nationwide agricultural water pricing reform will expand to another 7 million hectares in 2020, according to a notice jointly issued by National Development and Reform Commission, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Water Resources, and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs.
The notice also specifies the need for long-term water-saving mechanisms in agricultural production, and proper pricing mechanisms that promote water saving. This is especially important for area’s in Northern China where there is a permanent shortage of water. In addition, experts also call for better inter-agency coordination and evaluation (source: UN Theme Group on Agriculture and Food Security).
Heavy Rainfall in South China Drives Up Vegetable Price
The continuous heavy rainfall in the Yangtze River in South China has caused severe local agricultural disasters in southern China. According to data from the Department of Market and Information Technology of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of China, due to the heavy rains in the south and strong convective weather in the main summer vegetable production areas in the north, vegetable prices rose after three consecutive months of decline.
A total of 42 million euro has been allocated for disaster relief in agricultural production to support the restoration of production in southern provinces after the disaster, repair agricultural facilities damaged by the flood, and develop high-quality facility agriculture (source: HortiDaily).
Sales Volume and Price Chinese Potatoes Increased Against All Odds
The outbreak of Covid-19 in early 2020 led to a severe disruption of agricultural trade in China. The pandemic limited distribution, harvest capabilities and weakened consumer demand, which caused many farmers to suffer significant financial losses. But this doesn’t account for potato traders, as both export conditions and export price of Chinese potatoes improved in comparison to last year.
In contrast to most other agricultural products, the market conditions are much greater than in previous years. There are several reasons for this development. China has a grip on the Covid-19 pandemic and the situation seems stable at the moment. At the same time, the situation in other countries is still quite severe. As a reaction, overseas customers have shifted their attention to China instead, which brings new commercial opportunities for Chinese potato farmers (source: Freshplaza).
Short News:
- Beijing Xinfadi Market reopened its doors for business-to-business activities. For retailers a convenient vegetable market will be set up near the market (source: Asiafruit China).