The damage of soybean import to domestic industry must be dealt with effectively.

In recent years, under the situation of overall net import and excessive import of agricultural products, the impact and impact of soybean import on domestic industry has attracted more and more attention. What is the specific situation of China's soybean import since China's entry into WTO? What are the adverse effects of import on the development of domestic soybean industry and the increase of farmers' income? How to effectively deal with the damage caused by soybean imports to the domestic industry? On these issues, the reporter recently interviewed Ni Hongxing, director of the Agricultural Trade Promotion Center of the Ministry of Agriculture, to listen to his views and propositions on these issues.

Reporter: as far as we know, China's soybean imports have continued to grow rapidly since China's accession to the WTO, and it has become the largest soybean importer for many years in a row, and the soybean self-sufficiency rate has continued to decline. Please talk about the specific situation of soybean import since China's entry into WTO.

Ni Hongxing: China is a country of soybean origin, has a unique advantage in soybean germplasm resources, and was once the largest soybean producer and exporter in the world. Since China's entry into WTO, with the rapid growth of soybean demand and the continuous increase of imports, the domestic production has been decreasing and the level of self-sufficiency has dropped sharply. As the soybean market is highly open, soybean has become the first bulk product with a substantial increase in imports and rapid growth after China's entry into WTO. From 2001 to 2015, soybean imports increased from 13.94 million tons to 81.69 million tons, with an average annual growth rate of 14 percent, with an average annual increase of 5 million tons. Imports mainly come from the United States, Brazil and Argentina, which are highly competitive in agriculture, with the United States accounting for more than 40 percent of the total. At present, China's soybean imports account for more than 60% of the world trade volume.

Reporter: what is the impact of imports on the healthy development of the domestic soybean industry and the increase in the income of soybean farmers in the main producing areas since China's entry into the WTO? At the same time, as an important part of China's traditional food crops, what kind of impact does the continuous import of large quantities of soybeans have on China's food security strategy of "moderate import"?

Ni Hongxing: China is a country with a shortage of resources per capita. Expanding imports is conducive to increasing the effective supply of agricultural products and alleviating the pressure of agriculture on resources and environment. Soybean trade is not a question of whether or not to import, but how to ensure that imports are appropriate. Excessive import, rapid growth and low price of soybean directly affect the healthy development of domestic industry, which not only affects the employment and income of tens of millions of soybean farmers, but also brings potential risks to food security.

First, excessive imports have significantly squeezed and suppressed domestic production, so that domestic production has not increased with the increase in demand, but decreased significantly. From 2001 to 2015, China's soybean demand increased by 64.13 million tons, imports increased by 67.75 million tons, and the new market demand was occupied by imported soybeans. In 2015, the sown area and yield of soybean in China were lower than those in 2004. Although there is a shortage of per capita agricultural resources in China, there is still great potential to increase production under the sustainable carrying capacity. In the history of China, the largest sowing area of soybean is 200 million mu, and according to the current level of per unit yield, the total yield can reach 25 million tons. If there is no impact of excessive imports, the current soybean output of 30 million tons is a more reasonable, feasible and sustainable choice.

Second, excessive imports have significantly suppressed and suppressed domestic prices, seriously affected the efficiency of soybean production, and weakened the basis of sustainable development of the industry. The average planting scale of soybean per household in China is 1x600 of the average planting scale in the main soybean producing areas of the United States, and the number of agricultural population per hectare of cultivated land in China is hundreds of times that of the United States. This determines the lack of basic competitiveness of China's soybean industry and the widening gap between China's soybean production costs and the United States and other major exporting countries. At present, the cost of soybean production in China is more than double that of the United States. As China implements a single import tariff of 3% on soybeans, a large number of highly subsidized foreign soybeans are coming in, so that the price of domestic soybeans can neither rise with the rise of production costs nor increase with the pull of demand. it directly affects the planting efficiency and sustainable development power of soybean in our country. Since China's accession to the WTO, the cost-return rate of soybean per mu has dropped from more than 20% to-4% in 2014. It is impossible for an industry to develop healthily without reasonable profits.

Third, excessive imports have brought potential risks to national food security and adversely affected the employment income of soybean farmers. A large number of imports have greatly reduced China's self-sufficiency level of soybeans and even edible vegetable oil. the self-sufficiency rate of soybeans has dropped from 53% in the early days of China's accession to the WTO to 13% at present, and the overall self-sufficiency rate of edible vegetable oil has dropped from 74% to 36%. The shrinking soybean industry and the decline in planting efficiency have a direct impact on the employment and income and livelihood security of millions of soybean farmers. It is because of the impact of imported soybeans that farmers in Northeast China have no choice but to change their planting of corn. Now the United States has resorted to the WTO dispute settlement on China's domestic policy on the three staple grains, which has brought them tremendous pressure on structural adjustment. What the United States is doing doesn't make sense at all. It is worth noting that due to the strong substitution of edible vegetable oil and the fact that soybean meal is mainly used as feed, the excessive import of soybean has a significant impact on the development of rapeseed industry planted in winter fallow fields in China. it also brings deepening challenges to feed grain production.

Reporter: as a member of WTO, how can China use the rights conferred by WTO to effectively deal with the damage caused by soybean imports to its domestic industry and ensure the healthy development of its own industry?

Ni Hongxing: China's soybean market is highly open, with a single import tariff of 3%. When we joined the WTO, we did not enjoy the special safeguard mechanism (SSG) to protect domestic industries in case of a surge in imports. The main reasons for excessive imports are the lack of basic competitiveness of soybeans determined by scale, the serious lack of import regulation and control means, and the agricultural subsidies of the United States, an important exporter, have strengthened its competitive advantage.

If we say that after individual industries such as soybeans have been hit by imports, they can also adjust their structure to mitigate their substantive impact, then when the import pressure on staple agricultural products is generally faced, the impact of excessive imports of soybeans will be more comprehensive and extensive, which must be dealt with effectively. Ensuring the food security of 1.3 billion people and the livelihood of more than 600 million farmers is not only an arduous task for China's agriculture, but also an inevitable requirement for China to fulfill its commitments and promote the realization of the UN Millennium Development goals. In the absence of effective tariff protection, we should take the initiative to make use of the rights and trade remedies granted by WTO. At present, the domestic soybean production has been obviously harmed. According to China's regulations on "two countervailing and one protection", anti-dumping, countervailing and general safeguard measures should be launched in time, and comprehensive measures should be taken to effectively control excessive imports and maintain a reasonable domestic price level while not affecting the moderate import needs, so as to ensure the healthy development of the domestic soybean industry.

In addition, there is a big gap in the level of risk management between small-scale agriculture and commercial large farms, and small-scale agriculture may not be controllable for the risks that can be controlled under large farm management. According to the characteristics of China's small-scale agriculture and the trend of increasing quarantine diseases and insect pests and pest hazards caused by imports in recent years, it is necessary to further strengthen the inspection and quarantine of imported soybeans on a scientific basis, strictly supervise the packaging, transportation, processing, and labeling of imported genetically modified soybeans, and effectively reduce the risks and hazards caused by imports. It is necessary to continue to strengthen and improve support for soybean production, establish a compensation mechanism for industrial damage as soon as possible, and provide necessary compensation to damaged agricultural industries, regions, and farmers.