China pledges billions more in funds to aid disaster-stricken farm regions
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A partially-submerged cornfield after heavy rain and flooding in the Hukou county of Jiujiang, Jiangxi province, on July 5, 2024.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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HONG KONG – China’s central bank said on Aug 13 that it will provide an additional 100 billion yuan (S$18.5 billion) to banks to support rebuilding areas devastated by floods, after recent extreme weather damaged around 2.4 million ha of crops.
The world’s largest agricultural importer has in recent weeks been plagued by Typhoon Gaemi lashing its eastern seaboard, record rain in its southern rice fields, and intense heatwaves across its northern corn and wheat yielding regions.
After the state media reported Vice-Premier Liu Guozhong calling for China’s vast agricultural sector to push for a bumper harvest this autumn, the central bank announced it will issue a further 100 billion yuan of a re-lending facility to support 12 areas with flood prevention and reconstruction initiatives.
The People’s Bank of China (PBOC) will direct the funding towards Fujian, Guangdong, Henan, Heilongjiang, Hunan, Jilin, Jiangxi, Liaoning, Shaanxi and Sichuan provinces, along with the megacity of Chongqing and the Guangxi region.
Funding will also go to farmers, small and micro-sized firms and households, a statement said.
The PBOC had already issued a total of 2.61 trillion yuan in re-lending quotas to support agriculturalists and small firms.
“The PBOC will urge its branches in relevant provinces to make good use of the newly added re-lending quotas... ensure the funding needs of disaster-stricken enterprises and help them resume production,” it added.
China suffered 76.9 billion yuan in economic losses
It was the biggest amount of losses for the month of July since 2021, ministry data showed.
Mr Liu, during his visit to Liaoning and Jilin provinces over the weekend and on Aug 12, urged officials to improve the agriculture sector’s capacity for disaster prevention and mitigation, according to the official Xinhua news agency.
He also “urged measures to drain accumulated water, promote the restoration of affected crops and guide farmers in replanting areas where crops were destroyed”, the report added.
Producers from the US to Brazil to Indonesia will be watching to see if China will increase its food imports to meet the demands of its 1.4 billion people.
A cut in domestic farm output could bolster the Asian giant’s demand for overseas supplies, which would impact global food supply and prices.
Beijing envisions 92 per cent self-sufficiency in staple grains and beans by 2033, up from 84 per cent during 2021-2023.
But an increase in the number of extreme weather events calls that into question.
Natural disasters in July affected almost 26.4 million people across China, with 328 either dead or missing.
More than one million people were relocated while 12,000 houses collapsed, with another 157,000 damaged. REUTERS
