China aims to build modern grain circulation system under 15th Five-Year Plan

On September 21, the State Council Information Office held a press conference under the "Starting the 15th Five-Year Plan" series, detailing efforts to safeguard the nation's grain reserves and ensure food security.

Grain Industry Annual Output Expected to Exceed 4.5 Trillion Yuan During the 15th Five-Year Plan Period

Liu Huanxin, a member of the Leading Party Members Group of the National Development and Reform Commission and Director of the National Food and Strategic Reserves Administration, stated that during the 14th Five-Year Plan period, China's comprehensive grain production capacity continued to improve, with annual grain output surpassing 700 million tonnes. The grain industry also saw sustained upgrades, with its annual industrial output value exceeding 4 trillion yuan. Grain circulation remained efficient and smooth, with ample market supply and overall stable operations.

"During the 15th Five-Year Plan period, we will deepen the implementation of the national food security strategy, focusing simultaneously on output and capacity, production and ecology, and increasing both yields and incomes. We will enhance the coordinated guarantee capacity of grain production, purchase, storage, processing, and sales; strengthen grain purchase and storage management; improve the quality and efficiency of grain circulation; and promote better alignment between production and demand, structural optimization, and quality improvement. The goal is to accelerate the establishment of a modern grain circulation system commensurate with China's status as a major country," Liu said. He outlined three key priorities:

• Improving grain purchase and sales: Combine the "visible hand" of government with the "invisible hand" of the market, address both supply and demand sides, focus on regulating market order and building logistics corridors, uphold the bottom line of "farmers can sell their grain" and "consumers can buy grain," and further invigorate grain trading.

• Improving grain reserves: Optimize the variety structure and regional distribution of grain reserves to ensure sufficient stockpiles; coordinate existing and new storage facilities to improve layout and functionality for better preservation; and scientifically manage the timing, pace, and intensity of reserve releases to ensure availability when needed.

• Improving the grain industry: Extend the grain industry chain (addition), reduce post-harvest losses across the entire chain (subtraction), and stimulate multiplier effects through industrial innovation (multiplication). During the 15th Five-Year Plan period, the high-quality grain project will be further implemented to continuously enhance the quality and efficiency of the grain industry, with the annual industrial output value expected to exceed 4.5 trillion yuan.

The grain industry holds considerable potential. In recent years, China's grain industry has maintained steady growth, with its industrial output value rising from 3 trillion yuan at the end of the 13th Five-Year Plan period to over 4 trillion yuan at the end of the 14th Five-Year Plan period.

Qian Yi, Deputy Director of the National Food and Strategic Reserves Administration, noted that efforts will focus on structural optimization, brand leadership, innovation-driven development, and support guarantees to accelerate high-quality growth in the grain industry. The administration will concentrate on strengthening the grain industry chain, tailoring measures to local conditions and specific grain types, and increasing the supply of high-quality grain.

Building Safe, Smart, Green, and Clean Grain Depots

The 15th Five-Year Plan calls for "improving the new model of grain supervision." "We will balance supervision and service, leverage 'AI + supervision,' strengthen law enforcement on key issues affecting people's interests, and make enforcement more standardized, services more precise, and supervision more effective," said Qin Yuyun, Deputy Director of the National Food and Strategic Reserves Administration.

Grain procurement affects the interests of both farmers and consumers. "Organizing large-scale procurement follows the principle of balancing market orientation with protecting farmers' interests, combining an effective market with a proactive government. Market-based procurement and policy-based storage will be coordinated to ensure smooth sales channels," Liu Huanxin said. Preparations for this year's autumn grain procurement are complete, with measures in place to strengthen procurement organization, invigorate market trading, implement timely adjustments, optimize services for farmers, and tighten supervision to maintain grain prices at reasonable levels.

To improve grain and reserve management and enhance food security capabilities, Liu Huanxin emphasized building "safe, smart, green, and clean grain depots." This includes enhancing early warning and proactive prevention capabilities to ensure quantitative, qualitative, and storage safety; promoting "AI + grain storage" to digitize workflows, automate key processes, and smarten warehouse management; applying green storage technologies tailored to local conditions to preserve grain quality; and consolidating results from special campaigns against corruption in grain procurement and storage to strengthen risk prevention and build a clean foundation.

China now has 730 million tonnes of standard warehouse capacity in good condition. To better manage and utilize these facilities, the National Food and Strategic Reserves Administration issued guidance in June this year to strengthen grain depot construction.

Grain must not only be well-managed and well-stored but also well-utilized. Global warming and frequent disasters pose higher demands on emergency grain supply. China's grain emergency response system has been continuously improved, with a solid foundation now in place. The country has established a four-tier emergency response plan system at the national, provincial, municipal, and county levels, built seven regional grain emergency support centers (Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei, Yangtze River Delta, Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao, Chengdu-Chongqing, Central China, Northwest, and Northeast), and mobilized nearly 70,000 grain emergency support enterprises and over 60,000 emergency supply outlets nationwide. Daily emergency processing and supply capacities for grain and oil both exceed 1.8 million tonnes.

Continued Promotion of High-Standard Grain Depot Construction and Upgrades

The 15th Five-Year Plan calls for reducing post-harvest losses across the entire grain chain. "Promoting grain conservation and loss reduction is a long-term effort. During the 15th Five-Year Plan period, we will adopt comprehensive measures to further tap into loss reduction potential," Qin Yuyun said.

Efforts will continue to promote the construction of high-standard grain depots and the upgrading of existing facilities to enhance green storage capabilities. A demonstration project for the integrated application of green storage technologies will be implemented, expanding the number of demonstration sites from 70 to over 100, covering all seven grain storage ecological zones across the country.

Standards will be revised and developed focusing on green storage, comprehensive utilization, and whole grains to further guide and regulate grain loss reduction. Enterprises will be encouraged to adopt moderate processing, actively explore the potential of by-product utilization, and promote efficient use of grain resources.

Technical services will be optimized to reduce grain loss rates. Greater scientific and technological support will be provided to guide farmers in addressing issues such as grain cleaning, drying, short-term storage, and pest and mold prevention, thereby reducing storage losses and improving efficiency.

The dining table is also a key battleground for conservation and loss reduction. Liu Huanxin noted that implementing a whole-grain action plan is an important measure for both the national food security strategy and the Healthy China strategy, benefiting both grain conservation and public health.

In December 2024, seven government departments jointly issued the National Whole Grain Action Plan (2024–2035), which has yielded significant results. The 15th Five-Year Plan further elaborates on the implementation of this action plan. Liu Huanxin stated that efforts will continue in areas such as science popularization, standard-setting, technological innovation, and industrial upgrading to advance the whole-grain action plan, better supporting the Healthy China initiative and safeguarding national food security.