CNR:
We know that the prices of other goods will only be stable when grain prices are stable, but recently, Shanxi province suffered serious floods. Will this have an impact on national grain production this fall? What do you think of the agricultural production situation since this year? Thank you.
Fu Linghui:
Thank you for your questions. Agriculture is indeed of great concern and is the fundamental industry of the national economy. The central government attaches great importance to agricultural development. Since this year, various parties have taken measures to support stable and increased agricultural production and maintain the safety of grain production. In the first three quarters, the overall situation of China's agricultural economy was relatively good.
First, the scale of agricultural production continued to expand. Thanks to various policies and measures to support agricultural development, the added value of China's agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry and fishery grew by 7.4% year on year in the first three quarters, with a two-year average growth of 4.9%, which was 0.6 percentage points faster than in the first half of the year. In the third quarter, the two-year average growth rate of the added value of agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry and fishery was 5.5%, contributing more than 10% to China's economic growth.
Second, grain production shows good momentum. Although severe natural disasters took their toll on crops in some regions, weather conditions were generally favorable for agricultural production across the country, and field management and disaster alleviation measures were also effective. This year, both summer grain crops and early season rice have seen increases in output, registering a 2.2% rise in total. With increasing support for grain production, farmers gain more benefits and are more active in growing grains than before. The sown area for fall grain has been significantly enlarged, with more high-yielding corn being planted. Generally, crops sown in the fall are expected to produce high yields, contributing to another bumper harvest year.
Third, animal husbandry production has maintained fast growth. Strong measures were taken to resume hog production and to promote the development of the animal husbandry industry, which have yielded obvious results. In the first three quarters, the output of pork, beef, mutton and poultry rose 22.4% year on year. More specifically, pork output increased 38%, with 491.93 million hogs slaughtered, up 35.9% year on year; and 437.64 million pigs registered in stock, an increase of 18.2% year on year. Both numbers have largely returned to normal levels.
Stable agricultural production is conducive to a sound national economy and the improvement of people's well-being, laying a solid foundation for the steady and sound socioeconomic development for the whole year. However, we need to note that there remain weak points in China's agricultural production, and we should continue our efforts to promote the steady and sustained development of agriculture. Thank you.
