The "2019 China Agricultural Outlook Conference" was held in Beijing from April 20 to 21, 2019 with the aim to highlight current and future market trends of major agricultural products for the next 10 years in China. Organized by the Institute of Agricultural Information, the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences and supported by the Expert Committee on Market Early Warnings of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Areas (MARA), this is the 6^th China Agricultural Outlook Conference and had more than 900 attendees including both Chinese nationals and foreign representatives. 

The theme of this year's conference was "Information leads agriculture towards high quality development.” The "China Agricultural Outlook Report (2019-2028)” provides a  10 years outlook and highlights the trends for the supply and demand levels of important agricultural crops such as grain, cotton, oil and sugar.

The conference also held thematic discussions on topics such as international trade for agricultural products, smallholder farmers and modern agriculture, e-commerce and poverty alleviation, and digital agriculture. 

In his opening speech, Han Jun, Vice Minister of Agriculture and Rural Areas, pointed out that China's structural reform on the agricultural supply side has achieved positive results. On one side, the agricultural production system has been further optimized, and the underlying approach has gradually shifted from increasing production to improving quality; on the other side, the total supply of agricultural products is sufficient and market operations are stable.

The Vice Minister also stressed that China's agricultural monitoring and early warning system has achieved remarkable progress in recent years. We should pay close attention to the new momentum in the agricultural products market, conduct in-depth analysis and research, and use information to guide agriculture development towards high-quality practices.

Zhang Hecheng, Secretary of the Party Leadership Group of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, highly praised the publication of the China Agricultural Outlook Report, which serves as an authoritative information supply channel between farmers and market operators. The report also provides key data that government departments use to base their decisions on, and further improves the transparency of supply and demand of agricultural products in China. 

The Representative of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in China highlighted China's significant improvement in agricultural statistics, especially for grain statistics.

“FAO has proudly supported the Conference since its inception in 2014, starting with a special chapter on China in the 2013 edition of the OECD-FAO Agricultural Outlook which has evolved into regular collaboration ever since then,” stressed Dr. Vincent Martin.

He took this opportunity to mention the OECD-FAO Agricultural Outlook which provides a comprehensive assessment of China’s role in the coming decade. The report also pays special attention  to developments in the soybean, maize, rice, and meat markets.

Dr. Vincent also emphasized that the information and analysis on China's agricultural development would not only benefit China itself, but also the global markets at large, including through the close collaboration between China, FAO and the G20 Agricultural Market Information System (AMIS) of which China in an active member.

Since 2014, China has held the China Agricultural Outlook Conference for five consecutive years, which also represents one of the key achievements of the development of the agricultural monitoring and early warning system. The China Agricultural Outlook Conference has played an important role in strengthening the scientific regulation and control of agricultural products market, enhancing the initiative of various market players to cope with market changes and expanding China's voice in the international market.