BEIJING, April 20 (Xinhua) -- The transformation and upgrading of agriculture in China will significantly accelerate in the next 10 years, and the level of agricultural modernization will steadily improve, according to a report released on Monday.
The China Agricultural Outlook (2020-2029) released by the China Agricultural Outlook Conference 2020 summarized and reviewed the market situation of 18 major agricultural products in 2019, made projections on production, consumption, trade and price in the next 10 years, and analyzed existing uncertainties.
The focus of China's agriculture development will shift from increasing production to improving quality. The production and supply of green, ecological, high-quality and safe products will increase significantly, the report said.
The structure of food grain varieties will continue to be optimized, with the planting area steadily declining. Unit yield increases will promote the steady growth of rice and wheat output, with an average annual growth rate of less than 1 percent in the next 10 years, said the report.
Soybean and milk output will grow at an average annual rate of 3 percent, and corn, fruit and poultry meat 2 percent to 3 percent, while pork, beef and mutton, sugar, vegetables and potatoes grow 1 percent to 2 percent.
The report said China's population growth will lead the continued growth of food consumption. In the next 10 years, total domestic consumption of rice and wheat is expected to increase by 2.4 percent and 11.8 percent respectively.
The scaling up of livestock production will drive the expansion of feed use consumption of coarse grains and soybeans. The total domestic consumption of corn and soybeans is expected to grow by 18.7 percent and 14.5 percent respectively.
The upgrading of China's food consumption structure will stimulate demand for animal products. The total domestic consumption of meat, poultry eggs, dairy products and aquatic products is expected to increase by 20.7 percent, 8.9 percent, 39.5 percent and 9.8 percent respectively.
The quality and level of China's opening up in agricultural sector will further improve. International trade in agricultural products will become increasingly active, and China will remain the world's largest importer of agricultural products, the report said.
China's trade partnerships with the United States, Brazil, ASEAN, the European Union, Australia and countries participating in the Belt and Road Initiate will strengthen. Agricultural imports will continue to grow and import sources will be more diverse.
The China Agricultural Outlook Conference, organized by the Agricultural Information Institute of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, has issued the China Agricultural Outlook report for six consecutive years. The report updates agricultural monitoring information, and guides agricultural production and market adjustment of agricultural products. Enditem
