China's Current Grain Marketing System and its Impact on Farm Household Behaviour

In March 2001, China re-opened its grain market first in Zhejiang Province and then in several other provinces. This is an important development of current grain marketing policy implemented since 1998, indicating that China's grain marketing policy is forwarding into a new period. 1998's grain marketing policy has raised a lot of concerns once it was put into effect. Many scholars analysed its impacts from different perspectives. Huan Jikun (1998), Xu Dehui (1999), Han Jizhi (1999), Wang Shujuan (2001) and Xu Zhenyu (2001) all analysed the background and essence of 1998's policy and the relationship between various players in the grain sector under the new policy. But those reviews on the new policy were not adequate. Based on our previous research and current survey of 201-farm household in S County, J Province, this paper investigates the implementation of 1998's policy and characteristics of farmers' responding behaviour in their grain production, sales and consumption

an consumers' attitudes towards the safety of milk powder after the melamine scandal in 2008 and the factors influencing the attitudes

Purpose – This paper aims to analyze the factors that influence urban consumers' attitudes towards food safety after the melamine scandal. Design/methodology/approach – Based on the research about the attitudes of urban consumers in Nanjing towards the safety of milk powder after the melamine scandal in 2008, this paper adopts the ordered logit model to test which factors significantly influence consumers' attitudes. Findings – The findings suggest that: first, there is a common concern among consumers about the safety of milk powder after the melamine scandal; second, according to the research, the concern is in inverse relation to the level of educational attainment, consumers' awareness of food safety incidents and their opinion of governments' action after the incident. Moreover, those who always have a concern about the safety of the alternatives to milk powder are more easily affected. Originality/value – Different from other researches, the paper focuses on consumers' attitudes towards food safety by studying a specific case, namely the melamine scandal.China, Consumer behaviour, Food safety, Public opinion

Healthy diet and food system transformation in China

The Chinese food system has expanded its focus from aiming to solve food problems to tackling current health and environmental issues. The Chinese diet has increased in quantity and improved in safety, but there is still room for improvement in terms of health and sustainability. This study used Chinese dietary data provided by the Global Diet Database to analyze the changes in China’s dietary structure from 1990 to 2018 and highlight differences in urban and rural areas and across education levels. Findings show that the intake of food and beverage, macronutrients, and micronutrients in urban areas is higher than in rural areas. The difference in food and beverage intake between urban and rural areas is significant. The dietary gap between urban and rural areas has gradually widened. The difference in food and beverage and macronutrient intake across education levels is significant, but the difference in micronutrient intake is not significant. The gap in dietary structure across educational levels is relatively stable. These results indicate that the dietary structures of different groups in China are uncoordinated. We propose policies covering agricultural production, supply chain infrastructure, public institutions, education, and public awareness to build a sustainable food system with a healthy dietary pattern

Technical Efficiency and Its Determinants in China's Hog Production

China’s hog production is undergoing a great transformation due to the soaring demand and changing raising system. Regarding the essential role of pork in Chinese diet, a systematic analysis on the productivity and efficiency of hog production can provide significant implications for policy makers. This paper investigates the productivity and efficiency of hog production and determinants of technical efficiency in China using a household level panel data (2004-2010). A stochastic frontier translog production function with scaling property in inefficiency term is adopted for hog production analysis, and the determinants of technical efficiency are incorporated in a one-step estimation using maximum likelihood estimation. Our results show that the average technical efficiency of hog production in China is 0.5914. More importantly, we find that specialized farmers have higher technical efficiency than others, and technical efficiency in the eastern region is higher than that in central and west China

Cash transfers and multiplier effect: lessons from the grain subsidy program in China

This study examines the multiplier effects of the grain subsidy program in China, which is a large food self-sufficiency project that is implemented as a cash transfer program. Income multiplier effects have not been examined in the evaluation of the grain subsidy program although increasing the income of farmers is the original goal of this project. A large number of household-level observations are employed to measure the program’s income multiplier. Results show that the grain subsidy program has an unrealized high income multiplier, and the income promotion effect of the transferred subsidies is from agricultural production derived by intensifying various input uses for each unit of land. The multiplier effect can be particularly utilized by households with good education and poor farmers in less developed regions. Hence, to maximize the income multiplier effect, the grain subsidy distribution method should consider these criteria instead of retaining the prevalent standard that is based on contracted land areas

Cash Transfers and Multiplier Effect: Lessons from the Grain Subsidy Program in China

This study examines the multiplier effects of the grain subsidy program in China, which is a large food self-sufficiency project that is implemented as a cash transfer program. Income multiplier effects have not been examined in the evaluation of the grain subsidy program although increasing the income of farmers is the original goal of this project. A large number of household-level observations are employed to measure the program’s income multiplier. Results show that the grain subsidy program has an unrealized high income multiplier, and the income promotion effect of the transferred subsidies is from agricultural production derived by intensifying various input uses for each unit of land. The multiplier effect can be particularly utilized by households with good education and poor farmers in less developed regions. Hence, to maximize the income multiplier effect, the grain subsidy distribution method should consider these criteria instead of retaining the prevalent standard that is based on contracted land areas

China's Expanding Role in Global Horticultural Markets

China's horticultural exports have almost doubled in value over the past decade, her imports have increased by even more, and China is increasingly a net exporter of horticultural products. After adjusting trade data for irregularities in the reported trade between Hong Kong and mainland China, growth in China's exports and imports is discussed. Major traded products and markets will be identified. Case studies are China's trade in fresh apples, which have become the major fruit export, and in cut flowers which are a relatively new export product for China. China's competitive position and market shares relative to other suppliers of apples and cut flowers to foreign markets are examined