Dim Sums: Agricultural Markets in China

China rarely acknowledges that droughts or floods impact farm production, but this week's announcements of disaster relief acknowledge that impacts of this year's extreme weather on agricultural output are a serious concern. An unusual report of payouts on agricultural insurance policies meant to reassure farmers further reveals the degree of concern. At the same time, State news media are assuring the public that China will have another bumper harvest this Fall. Three different disaster relief figures have been announced by State media. On August 3, one news item announced  RMB 215.4 billion (about $31.8 billion) had been allocated for agricultural disaster mitigation. Also on August 3,  China's Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs announced that the country's top leadership had allocated RMB 176.3 billion ($26 billion) in funds for agricultural disaster prevention and mitigation as well as water conservancy-related disaster relief funds. A third report on August...

Hog production was impacted by devastating typhoons that hit China's Guangxi Province a week ago. Dead pigs pose a disease risk and a pork deficit in a region that accounts for more than 1 in 20 pigs raised in the country. Torrential rains from super-typhoon Maysak inundated the region on July 6. Entire villages were flooded or swept away after the release of water from reservoirs and the breaching of at least one major dam. Images from the most seriously affected areas, including Hengzhou, Guigang, and Binyang, look like war zones. Officially only 39 people were killed and 9 were missing, but the real death toll had to be much larger. Chinese news propaganda has quickly shifted to venomous snakes on the loose, light-hearted coverage of rescue teams, company donations, and fun ways to cope with flooding. The death toll for pigs is visibly higher. The Youtube video below shows thousands of dead pig carcasses, dozens of surviving pigs stuck on the roofs of their barns, swimming in fl...

  College students harvesting corn in the rain near Jinan, Shandong. Source: Jinan Times . October 1, a student saw this when he returned home to Qi County, Kaifeng City, Henan Province. Source: Huoxing Caijing . Farmer prays for his 200 mu of corn soaked by rain. Frame from Douyin video. Moldy corn in Henan Province. Grandpa spent RMB600 per mu to grow corn and can sell it for RMB 1 per kilogram. Douyin video frame. Drying corn on the roadside in northern Anhui Province. Douyin video frame. Combine harvesting in a flooded field. Douyin video frame.

"Wet soil and waterlogged farmland have hindered the movement of agricultural machinery, negatively impacting harvesting, drying, and clearing stubble for wheat sowing," according to official Chinese news media . The Xinhua report proclaimed, "We must unite our efforts to protect autumn crops and strive to overcome disasters and achieve a bumper harvest!" A Xinhua reporter claimed to see crawler-type harvesters working nonstop. Source:  Xinhua . A special meeting on agricultural insurance indemnities  was held on October 10 to consider how to speed up insurance payments to farmers impacted by heavy rains in the Huang-Huai region of northern China. The meeting was held to address complaints about slow processing of agricultural insurance claims and low payouts. Insurance companies were instructed to expedite claims, use remote sensing and drones to verify losses, pay the full amount promptly, and ensure that grain is harvested and dried.  The meeting was convened joi...