A farmer drives a farming machinery to harvest rice at a family farm in Jiutai District of Changchun, Northeast China's Jilin Province, Sept. 20, 2022. Photo: Xinhua

 
China is stepping up autumn grain purchase, with state-owned enterprises in the country's major grain-producing areas buying over 90 million tons of grain as of December 15, up nearly 5 million tons compared with the same period last year, data from the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) showed on Tuesday.

Li Chao, a spokesperson from the NDRC, said at a regular press briefing that purchasing activities in the market are well managed, with grain prices remaining relatively stable.

Despite natural disasters in the summer time, China moved to accelerate support for grain production, circulation and storage. This year, the country's grain production has reached a new record high and the grain market has sustained a stable operation, which increased their country's capacity of preventing any abrupt risks, Li said.

In recent years, the level of food security in China has been notably strengthened, with the total grain output exceeding 650 million tons for a ninth consecutive year. 

This provides a solid foundation for comprehensively boosting rural revitalization and accelerating the building of a new development pattern, while ensuring the food security of 1.4 billion people also represents China's great contribution for maintaining global food security, Li said.

"We have conditions, capability and confidence to achieve the goal of 'self-sufficiency in grain supply and absolute security of staple food supplies,' while ensuring that China's food supply remains firmly in our own hands," Li said.

The national strategy on food security featuring self-sufficiency based on domestic grain production, guaranteed food production capacity, moderate imports, and technological support will be firmly implemented. Efforts will also be made to implement the strategy of sustainable farmland use and innovative application of agricultural technology to increase farmland productivity in the country, Li said.