An aerial view of COFCO’s State Reserve grain depot in Hangzhou, east China’s Zhejiang province, March 4, 2025.
Cfoto | Future Publishing | Getty Images
China on Wednesday raised its annual grain production target to around 700 million metric tons and expanded its agriculture stockpile budget, pushing for stronger measures to safeguard food supplies as tensions with trade partners intensify.
The world’s largest importer of farm goods brought in more than 157 million metric tons of grains and soybeans last year but is seeking to cut its heavy dependence on supplies that mostly come from the United States and Brazil.
Beijing raised its 2025 budget for stockpiling grain, edible oils and other materials by 6.1% from a year ago to 131.66 billion yuan ($18.12 billion), according to an official report.
It also allocated 54.05 billion yuan of subsidies for agricultural insurance premiums.
The 2025 target for domestic grain output set the bar higher compared to its 2024 target of 650 million tons, after the nation harvested a record 706.5 million tons last year.
“With the implementation of the food crop production strategy of improving farmland management and increasing the application of technology as well as the improvement of our ability to guarantee food security, we have the foundation and support necessary to attain this goal,” according to a official National Development and Reform Commission report.
In bolstering its commitment on a slew of existing measures to raise crop yield and stimulate planting, Beijing also signalled that it will provide more support for beef cattle and dairy industries which had faced oversupply issues.
The report also said China will advance the construction and improve the connectivity of storage facilities for grain, cotton, sugar, meat and fertilizer.
“China’s increase in its stockpile budget is part of efforts to establish a minimum baseline or to prevent food reserves from falling to a certain level,” said Genevieve Donnellon-May, a researcher at the Oxford Global Society.
The increased measures to safeguard food security underscore Beijing’s efforts to prepare for a long trade war with the U.S. and increasingly complex geopolitical and geoeconomic challenges, she said.
In addition to U.S. tariff issues, China also launched trade investigations over pork and dairy imports from the European Union and canola imports from Canada due to disputes over tariffs on Chinese-made electric vehicles.
The total value of China’s agriculture imports fell 8% in 2024 to $215 billion, according to customs data.
Encouraging farmers
China, which imports about 80% of the soybeans it consumes, said it will expand the coverage of full-cost and production income insurance for soybeans, a move that will encourage farmers to plant the oilseed.
At the same time, it said it will continue efforts to lower the use of soybean meal in livestock feed.
China has for years explored the use of low-protein animal feed or alternative meals like rapeseed or cotton to reduce demand for imported beans.
The report said China will expand the cultivation of oilseed crops and stabilise the production of sugar crops, cotton and natural rubber.
Moreover, it will refine the grain pricing mechanism, and implement a minimum purchase price policy for rice and wheat.
“The announcement could signal to the country’s major grain growing provinces to further push to increase yields and production,” Donnellon-May said.
