Draft of China’s First Grain Law Released

The Legislative Affairs Office of the State Council of China (LAOSCC) released an opinion soliciting draft of the Grain Law on 21 Feb., 2012, aiming to invite public opinions, based on CCM International’s latest issue of Crop Protection China News.

According to the National Development and Reform Commission and the State Administration of Grain, the joint preparing units of the draft, the main purpose of drafting the law is to ensure grain security by stabilizing grain output, safeguarding grain production and strengthening control and supervision over the market.

Moreover, in the grain processing industry, the draft makes some strict stipulations, aiming to better safeguard food security. For example, grain producers are forbidden to process mildewed grains or those that have been contaminated by pesticide residue, mycotoxin or heavy metals; contaminated vehicles and packing materials are forbidden to be used to transport grain; additives shall be added accordingly.

Aiming to ensure the Grain Law to be fully executed, the draft sets up a Provincial Chief Executive Accountability System. It regulates that the Provincial People's Government Chief Executive shall take the responsibility for grain security in his/her local administrative division. "Clearly defining the responsibilities of the People's Governments at all levels and relevant departments is very important to ensure the implementation of the Grain Law," said an official from LAOSCC.

Actually, the legislation of the Grain Law has been proposed since 1999. However, owing to the complex benefit-based relationships among many related parties, which are difficult to be balanced, the Grain Law has been delayed to be drafted. As more and more worries about grain safety have been raised from the public, especially when China experienced a grain crisis in 2008, Chinese Government finally put its foot down to speed up the legislation of the Grain Law. It is also considered to be the first law that is legislated exclusively for grain in the history of the People's Republic of China.

All in all, it is a very important step that China has taken to ensure domestic grain and food security. The legislation of the Grain Law has been expected and largely supported by the public ascribed to the public's growing concern over grain and food security.

Although some of the stipulations in the draft have raised disputes among the public, many people in China still hold the attitude that "late legislation" is better than none.

Even so, there is one stipulation in the draft should be pointed out, which has confused and disappointed most of the people in China.

Nowadays, GM food safety issues are still very sensitive topics in China. So far, China has approved and granted biosafety certificates to seven GM crops, such as BT cotton and disease-resistant papaya, and approved biosafety certificates of five GM crops for import as processing materials, i.e. GM cotton, GM soybean, GM corn, GM sugar beet and GM canola. Although China has made clear statements that it has never permitted any GM crop to be commercially planted in domestic farmlands, illegally commercial planting of GM crops in China has reached a serious condition, especially GM corn and GM rice. People who are sensitive to GM security have hoped that the Grain Law will take measures to stop the commercial planting of GM crops and punish the illegally planting.

However, what disappointed them is that the statement of the stipulation in the draft is very simple and unclear. According to the 12th stipulation in the draft, any institution or individual must not apply GM technologies to principle grain cultivars without approval. Some sensitive experts expressed their worries about the stipulation that the words "must not and without approval" instead of "are forbidden" used by the government may leave a loophole. They hope that the formal Grain Law which is to be released in the future will more specifically ban the application of GM technology on main grains.

"What we are opposing is the commercial planting of GM crops which will then enter food chain. But we don't oppose the research of GM technology," said Fang Lifeng, director of the food and agricultural project of Greenpeace China.

The stipulations in the Grain Law draft will be discussed according to the opinions from the public and a final version will be nailed down in the formal Grain Law. According to LAOSCC, anyone who has opinions on the draft can login in its official website and submit opinions before 31 March, 2012. Since the draft has not been submitted for discussion on the National People's Congress (5 March-14 March, 2012) and the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (3 March-12 March, 2012), it would not be released in 2012.

Source: Crop Protection China News 1203

http://www.cnchemicals.com/Newsletter/NewsletterDetail_16.html

Content of Crop Protection China News 1203:

Draft of China’s first Grain Law released

Review results of new pesticide products registration released

China to further focus on rural developments and food security

Sinochem to launch six new pesticide products

Huayang Technology's reorganization denied

Hailir Group selling pesticide subsidiary for IPO

Most listed pesticide companies' performance declines in 2011

China's export structure of pesticides changes in 2011

China's corn planting area to increase in 2012

Crop Protection China News, a semimonthly publication issued by CCM International on 15th and 30th(31st) of every month, aims to gain a deep insight into Chinese market, supply the latest market data and strategy support, analyze the newest legislation and policy and grasp the future market trend.

About CCM

CCM is dedicated to market research in China, Asia-Pacific Rim and global market. With a staff of more than 150 dedicated highly-educated professionals. CCM offers Market Data, Analysis, Reports, Newsletters, Buyer-Trader Information, Import/Export Analysis all through its new proprietary product ValoTracer.

For more information, please visit http://www.cnchemicals.com.

CCM International Ltd.
Guangzhou CCM Information Science & Technology Co., Ltd.
17th Floor, Huihua Commercial & Trade Mansion, No.80 Xianlie Zhong Road, Guangzhou 510070, China

Tel: 86-20-37616606

Email: econtact@cnchemicals.com

Source: http://www.cnchemicals.com/PressRoom/PressRoomDetail_w_1005.html

Technology Feeds China

Enhancing the development of agricultural science& technology is the major focus of China's first central document of 2012. The document reveals that China will accelerate the reform of agricultural science&technology system and enhance the innovation of agricultural science&technology, aiming to safeguard food security in China, according to CCM’s January issue of AgriChina Investor.

The first central document of the year, also known as the "No. 1 Document", is issued annually by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council, the Cabinet.

Before the release of the "No. 1 Document", the Ministry of Agriculture had issued the 12th Five-Year Plan (2011-2015) on Agricultural Science&Technology (the Plan) in late Dec. 2011. "The Plan" serves as the guideline for China's agricultural development in the next five years. According to the Plan, the major tasks in the coming years include innovation of the seed industry, transformation of achievements in scientific research, etc.

"The fund needed will be guaranteed. In the next ten years, China will invest over USD 475 billion (RMB 3 trillion) in agricultural science& technology." said an insider from the Ministry of Agriculture.

The aims of the "No. 1 Document" and "the Plan" are to safeguard domestic food security. China's grain output hit 571.21 million tonnes in 2011, up 24.73 million tonnes, or 4.5% over 2010, representing the eighth consecutive year for increased grain production, as shown in the figures from the National Bureau of Statistics of China. However, China faces heavy task for food security because of the decrease of farmland and the soaring food demand.

Statistics show that China's cultivated land decreased from 130 million ha. in 1995 to 121 million ha. in 2010.

With the limited sources, the effective way to safeguard domestic food security is to increase the per unit area yield through the investment in agricultural science& technology, especially in seed innovation.

China's grain per unit area yield has witnessed big increase in the past decades due to the application of improved seeds and the input of chemical fertilizers and pesticides. However, the grain per unit area yield is still very low compared with those in some developed countries. There is still big room for the increase of grain per unit area yield.

There is a saying in China, "Agriculture feeds the nation, and seed feeds agriculture". It is believed that the application of improved seed varieties is the best way to increase grain per unit area yield. Actually, before the "No. 1 Document" of 2012, China has already paid close attention to the seed industry and issued a series of policies in 2011.

On 18 April 2011, the State Council released the formal "Suggestions for Accelerating Development of Modern Crop Seed Industry" (the Suggestions) to enhance the development of domestic seed industry.

According to the Suggestions, research institutes and universities should focus on the basic researches in the future, such as the collection and conservation of crop germplasms, the breeding theory, the GM technology, etc. It also encourages the cooperation between research institutes and seed companies, and research institutes should share their germplasm resources and research achievements with seed companies.

At present, most of the crop varieties in China are developed by research institutes or universities. Most seed companies pay little attention to the breeding of new varieties. They usually try to buy variety patents from research institutes or universities, which is not good for the long-term development of seed companies. The Suggestions shows the intention of Chinese government to change this status.

As for GM crops, although there is much controversy over the commercialization of GM crops (China issued biosafety certificates for GM rice and GM corn in late 2009, but no staple crop has achieved commercialization yet), Chinese government attaches importance to GM technology and has invested a lot of funds in the development of GM technology.

At present, GM crops are mostly insect-resistant and herbicide-tolerant. It is expected that China will also focus on GM crops with high yield and quality. "China should enhance the development of GM crops, such as GM corn, to ease domestic supply pressure," according to an insider from the Ministry of Agriculture recently.

Besides the development of seed industry, "No. 1 Document" and "the Plan" also pay attention to the mechanization of agriculture. "The Plan" reveals that mechanization farming of major grain crops in China should increase to 60% by the end of 2015 from about 52% at present.

Chinese government has been continuing the trend which started from 2004 of tackling rural problems in its first annual document, and the first document of 2011 focused on water infrastructure construction.

Source: AgriChina Investor

http://www.cnchemicals.com/Newsletter/NewsletterDetail_192.html

Content of AgriChina Investor 1201:

New Catalogue for the Guidance of Foreign Investment Industries to come into force

Technology feeds China

Government strengthens establishment of circulation system of fresh agricultural produces

Ministry of Agriculture to focus on development of livestock & poultry breeding

China's urbanization rate exceeds 50% in 2011

China to encourage agricultural insurance businesses

Central Rural Work Conference to promote 2012 agricultural development

China resumes beef import from Argentina

……

AgriChina Investor, periodically published on 25^th every month, offers timely update and close follow up of agriculture investment in China, analyzing market data and trends, as well as related policies. Major columns include investment environment, investment dynamics, market watcher, market review etc.

If you are interested in AgriChina Investor, please do not hesitate to contact us by +86-20-37616606, or email us at econtact@cnchemicals.com.

About CCM

CCM is dedicated to market research in China, Asia-Pacific Rim and global market. With a staff of more than 150 dedicated highly-educated professionals. CCM offers Market Data, Analysis, Reports, Newsletters, Buyer-Trader Information, Import/Export Analysis all through its new proprietary product ValoTracer. For more information, please visit http://www.cnchemicals.com.

CCM International Ltd.
Guangzhou CCM Information Science & Technology Co., Ltd.
17th Floor, Huihua Commercial & Trade Mansion, No.80 Xianlie Zhong Road, Guangzhou 510070, China

Tel: 86-20-37616606

Email: econtact@cnchemicals.com

Source: http://www.cnchemicals.com/PressRoom/PressRoomDetail_w_959.html

Crop Protection Products Make Great Contributions to China

Recently, CropLife, the American Industrial Association, reveals that crop protection products can improve the quality of field crops, fruits and vegetables in the US, with the total value increasing by USD 82 billion, according to the survey by Mark Godwin Consulting Ltd.

And when it comes to the contribution of crop protection products in China, we can find some clues from Zhonghui Wu’s presentation. Zhonghui Wu, CEO of CCM International, was invited to present in 2011 Annual China Investment Frontier held by Goldman Sachs and he participated in one of the seminars, namely “Seed, fertilizer and crop protection products are solutions to China’s food problem in 2030”. Mr. Wu shared his own opinion on the significance of crop protection about how it ensures China’s food security in the future. The major difficulties and challenges to increase China’s future crop yield are as follows:

1.       How to reduce the negative impacts that natural disasters and climate change make on agricultural production and crop yield in maximum degree

2.       How to slow down cultivated land shrinking and prevent soil fertility loss

3.       How to raise the utilization rate of arable land and accelerate the process of land circulation and intensity

4.       How to further increase the farming enthusiasm of Chinese peasants so as to reduce abandoned rate, adopt scientific farming and boost crop production

5.       How to eliminate people’s misunderstanding and prejudice on agricultural biotechnology, especially GM technology

Mr. Wu thinks the agrochemicals have been playing a vital role in enhancing crop yields and increasing farming gains. Fertilizer contributes 40% - 45% to the growth of crop yield, while pesticide contributes 20% - 25% to the growth of crop yield. In the major crop planting areas in China, the benefits after using pesticide are almost equivalent to or even have exceeded the most advanced countries in the world. But in the non-crop planting areas, the benefits are far lower than the average level in the world because of the limited resource conditions and low pesticide application skills. How to increase the future benefits of pesticide mainly depends on the following aspects: the improvement of pesticide inert ingredients, the development of new pesticide formulations and new pesticide, as well as the enhancement of farmers’ pesticide application skills.

Mr. Wu pointed out that crop protection is important to food security, while pesticide is important to crop protection. Therefore, China’s pesticide industry plays a crucial role in the crop protection. In order to ensure food security, the main task of crop protection is to increase crop yield, improve product quality and guarantee safety of food supply and product quality in the future. The pesticide will become less harmful, more effective, much easier to use and more eco-friendly. With larger application of highly effective pesticides, the future demand of pesticide will decline to a certain extent, but the market value will be greater and greater. Mr. Wu suggests the government boosting the application of agricultural technology, strengthening the education and training of Chinese peasants, guiding the farmers to use pesticide scientifically and enhancing the effectiveness and benefits of pesticides.

In terms of the contributions that crop protection products make on food security, Keke Lan, Researcher of CCM International said that as people’s living standards improving, the demand of food and other agricultural products will be constantly increasing. People will pay more attention to the food security problem. Concerning the safety of human beings and animals, eco-friendly crop protection products will play a crucial part in the development of Chinese agricultural economy.

Nowadays, agriculture industry is heading towards to be more superior, safer, more productive and non-toxic. To create and produce the new eco-friendly crop protection products with high efficient and supreme safety play irreplaceable roles in increasing crop yields, preventing insect pests and reducing damage loss. More and more crop protection companies are making great efforts to develop and produce the new eco-friendly crop protection products so as to dominate domestic market in the future.

With the release of industrial policies and regulations in recent years, the Chinese government is engaging in encouraging and guiding domestic agrochemical industry to develop in a sustainable and healthy way. For example, Policy of Pesticide Industry issued in September, 2010, further regulates domestic pesticide industry to develop timely, appropriately and orderly. It is estimated that China will launch more and more agrochemical policies and regulations to ensure the safety of agriculture production and the quality of agricultural products, and to strengthen the support of crop protection products to agriculture production and food security.

About CCM

CCM is dedicated to market research in China, Asia-Pacific Rim and global market. With a staff of more than 150 dedicated highly-educated professionals. CCM offers Market Data, Analysis, Reports, Newsletters, Buyer-Trader Information, and Import/Export Analysis all through its new proprietary product Val Tracer.

For more information, please visit http://www.cnchemicals.com.

CCM International Ltd.
Guangzhou CCM Information Science & Technology Co., Ltd.
17th Floor, Huizhou Commercial & Trade Mansion, No.80 Xian lay

Hong Road, Guangzhou

510070, China

Tel: 86-20-37616606

Email: econtact@cnchemicals.com

Source: http://www.cnchemicals.com/PressRoom/PressRoomDetail_a_944.html

New Regulations on Pesticide Management to be Nailed down Soon

August 2, 2011, CCM – On July 21, 2011, the Legislative Affairs Office of China State Council released a draft for seeking opinions on Regulations on Pesticide Management, with the purpose to further regulate domestic pesticide industry and ensure domestic food security.
According to CCM’s latest issue of Crop Protection China News, regulations on Pesticide Management have experienced several revisions after it was issued and implemented on May 8, 1997. However, the last revised version of Regulations on Pesticide Management on July 27, 2002 no longer keeps pace with the great development of domestic pesticide industry in recent years. Moreover, food security accidents triggered by irrational use of pesticides which frequently happened in recent years have alerted Chinese Government the emergency to fix the deficiencies of pesticide management.

Hence, Chinese Government decides to amend this policy again by carrying out a more intensive one over pesticide management. The draft released for seeking opinions this time includes eight chapters and 84 articles, covering registration, production, sales, etc. of domestic pesticide industry.

Compared with the current pesticide management policy, the draft is formed by adding one chapter and 35 articles with more intense regulations into the current one.

According to the draft of Regulations on Pesticide Management, two of the items may deeply impact domestic pesticide industry.

1. Cancel the temporary registration of pesticides and further standardize the processes of pesticide registration, mainly emphasizing on pesticide safety, the effectiveness evaluation of pesticides, higher investigation requirements, etc.

2. Set up license system of pesticide business and the validity period of pesticide business license is three years. Cancel the restriction that only some pesticide operators, such as pesticide supply and marketing cooperatives, agricultural technology extension station, etc., own the qualification to apply for pesticide business licenses, stating that individual business dealers could also apply for pesticide business if they meet the requirement of pesticide operation standards according to the regulations of local government.

Between the two large modifications, cancelling the temporary registration of pesticides is considered to be the most critical one. China has started the temporary registration system of pesticides since 2001. Owing to its much lower fees and shorter registration processes on getting the permission of pesticide production, it has provided great benefits to either most pesticide players in China or the development of domestic pesticide industry.

However, fast development of domestic pesticide industry has offered a positive environment for pesticide business, thus more and more pesticide players sprang up in China in the last decade which has somewhat given rise to a chaotic market in domestic pesticide industry.

To better manage domestic pesticide market and cut down the numbers of pesticide players, cancelling the temporary registration of pesticides is considered to be an irresistible trend. Actually Chinese government has also considered setting up a special registration system which is popular in international pesticide industry in response to emergency situation.

As for setting up license system of pesticide business, it is another trend of domestic pesticide management in the future. Owing to the great negative effects caused by food security events in recent years, such as poison cowpea in Hainan Province, two main pesticide consumption provinces in China are carrying out or to carry out license system of pesticide business, namely Hainan Province and Shandong Province.

The implementation of license system is believed to be nationally promoted after the revision and release of Regulations on Pesticide Management in the near future. However, there may be some kinds of regional disparities according to the real situation in local areas.

Apparently, it may be difficult to understand the government's decision on permitting individual dealers to apply for pesticide business while Hainan is carrying out the Implementation Measures of Hainan Province Pesticide Wholesale and Retail Business License Management Regulation (Trial), saying it is going to limit the number of individual pesticide dealers to 205 in the whole island from more than 4000.

According to the draft, although it intends to permit individual dealers to apply for pesticide business, it still sets a higher threshold but not clearly stated in the draft. The requirement may be released in the coming implementary provisions and there will be some differences among provinces.

Outlook
Actually, the amendment of Regulations on Pesticide Management had been launched last year and it was expected to be released by the end of 2010. However, owing to a wide divergence of opinion among government departments, pesticide players, etc., the issue of the policy has to be pushed off and revised over and over again.

The two big changes in the draft will largely impact current pesticide market in the future. Although the implementation may encounter a lot of difficulties, combining with implementation with China Pesticide Industry Policy, domestic pesticide industry will enter a new era in the future.

Source: Crop Protection China News 1114

http://www.cnchemicals.com/Newsletter/NewsletterDetail_16.html

Content of Crop Protection China News 1114:

New Regulations on Pesticide Management to be nailed down soon
New policy boosts pesticide stocks against market trend
China newly issues 861 pesticide production licenses in H1 2011
China cotton price to hit minimum purchase one
Downturn of domestic glyphosate continues in H1 2011
Domestic imidacloprid export up in H1 2011
Anhui Huilong's expansion kicks off
Rice pests and diseases to be serious in H2 2011
China promotes the professional control on pests

Crop Protection China News, a semimonthly publication issued by CCM International on 15th and 30th(31th) of every month, aims to gain a deep insight into Chinese market, supply the latest market data and strategy support, analyze the newest legislation and policy and grasp the future market trend.

Please visit http://www.cnchemicals.com for more information or contact us at econtact@cnchemicals.com

CCM International Ltd.
Guangzhou CCM Information Science & Technology Co., Ltd.
17th Floor, Huihua Commercial & Trade Mansion, No.80 Xianlie Zhong Road, Guangzhou 510070, China