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Mia Nurmamat

Premier Li Qiang has stressed the importance of national food security during an inspection tour of China’s most important grain-producing provinces, as a growing number of global investment banks warn that El Nino and regional conflicts could trigger a prolonged and more widespread global grain crisis.
The country’s No 2 political figure visited the northeastern provinces of Heilongjiang and Jilin, which together generated nearly a fifth of the country’s grain output last year.
During the three-day tour that began on Monday, Li visited farms, research institutes and agricultural companies, inspected soybean, corn and rice crops, and repeatedly stressed the need to secure a strong harvest.
“The autumn harvest accounts for the bulk of China’s annual grain production, and crops are now at a critical stage,” Li said, calling for better field management, stable supplies and prices of agricultural inputs, and stronger policy support to secure a bumper harvest.
Li also reiterated Beijing’s long-standing emphasis on food self-sufficiency, invoking the oft-repeated line that China must “keep its rice bowl firmly in its own hands”.
The coming autumn harvest typically accounts for about three-quarters of China’s annual grain output, making it critical to the country’s efforts to feed its 1.4 billion people and reduce its reliance on imports.
However, frequent extreme weather, combined with disruptions to commodity and fertiliser shipments related to the Middle East conflict, has added pressure to global food production this year.
Li said China must build on its strong summer harvest, ensure stable supplies of grain and other key agricultural products, and “take all necessary measures to secure a bumper autumn harvest”.

He also called for wider use of advanced breeding technologies, high-end farm machinery and artificial intelligence, as well as stronger disaster preparedness to protect crops from droughts and floods.
His remarks come as extreme weather and disruptions to commodity and fertiliser shipments have been weighing on global food production, heightening Beijing’s concerns over domestic supplies and exposure to volatile international markets.
The Middle East conflict, an escalation in the Russia-Ukraine war and extreme weather – including heatwaves across the northern hemisphere and a potentially strengthening El Nino – are tightening supplies and pushing up grain prices, HSBC said in a report.
Prices for wheat, corn, barley and rice were collectively 22 per cent higher year on year as of July, according to the bank on Tuesday.
“Having strong supplies and stocks going into this year has helped keep prices from spiking higher, but the buffer is now starting to be run down quickly,” HSBC economist Jamie Culling warned.
The report followed a warning from JPMorgan that another global food crisis could emerge next year, especially as war-related disruptions to fertiliser supplies coincide with a potential “super” El Nino.
The bank expects global food inflation to accelerate from about 2.8 per cent in the first half of 2026 to an annualised rate of around 5 per cent in the first half of 2027.
Combined with an energy shock, the pressures could add about 0.6 percentage points to global headline inflation and slow the expected easing in prices, it said.


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During an inspection tour in northeastern China, Premier Li says advanced tech can protect crop yield


During an inspection tour in northeastern China, Premier Li says advanced tech can protect crop yield.


Amid ‘super’ El Nino worry, Li Qiang vows ‘all necessary measures’ to secure autumn harvest

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}During an inspection tour in northeastern China, Premier Li says advanced tech can protect crop yield

During an inspection tour in northeastern China, Premier Li says advanced tech can protect crop yield