National food supply secure ahead of New Year, Spring Festival demand

China's food supply has been guaranteed thanks to bumper consecutive harvests and better market control, according to the National Food and Strategic Reserves Administration.

At a press conference on Monday, Qin Yuyun, director of the administration's Grain Reserves Department said that China expects to purchase 400 million metric tons of grain this year from farmers, about the same figure as usual.

Deals for the purchase of 35 million tons of grain, including those from national reserves or purchases from farmers by governments at the lowest prices, were made on the national grain trading platform this year, Qin said, adding that national reserves have played their role in meeting market demand.

The administration will strengthen coordination of all aspects of grain circulation to ensure there is sufficient grain and oil available for sale during the New Year and Spring Festival holidays.

Wang Hong, director of the Emergency Supply Department, said that the country has so far created more than 5,500 emergency grain processing companies, with a daily capacity of 1.41 million tons.

"If the daily consumption per person is 0.5 kilograms, the country's daily emergency processing capacity can meet the needs of 1.4 billion people for two days," Qian said.

The first round of the national high-quality grain project has promoted steady grain production and improved quality levels in the grain industry, according to Qian Yi, director of the Planning and Construction Department.

Henan province's 6,300 agricultural processing companies produced one-third of the country's instant noodles and one fourth of its steamed buns, earning revenues of 1.16 trillion yuan ($182 billion). 

Farmers have benefited from the improvements to the grain industry, Qian added. "Farmers in Sichuan province have increased their incomes by 4.8 billion yuan thanks to the 15 percent higher purchasing price for better-quality rice and rapeseed." 

Zhong Haitao, head of the Law Enforcement and Supervision Department, said that 802 hotline complaints have been resolved this year. "We have been able to reclaim about 36.85 million yuan in arrears for grain sales," he said.