China Has Sufficient Rice, Wheat to Feed Its People

Farmers at the Jianshan Farm in Heihe, Heilongjiang province, harvest soybean with the help of reaping machines. Wu Shujiang/For China Daily

The grain stocks in China are sufficient, and the staple food are "absolutely safe", an official with the National Food and Strategic Reserves Administration said on Tuesday.

Qin Yuyun, the administration's head of grain reserves, said the domestic food market supply is completely ensured.

The current grain inventory in China is at a relatively high level in history, and the two major staples of wheat and rice account for more than 70 percent of the total inventory, he said.

"Taking wheat as an example, the stocks continue to increase and can meet the consumption demand for one and a half years amid the successive bumper harvests," Qin said.

China can process 1.5 million metric tons of rice and 800,000 tons of wheat every day.

Given the strong capacity of processing grain and oil, "the daily processed rice and noodles will be enough for all Chinese people to eat for two days", Qin said.

Moreover, China has more than 5,500 enterprises for grain processing to meet emergency capability, he said.

"Thirty-six large and medium-sized cities can ensure more than 20 days' finished grain and oil supply from inventory," he added.