china rapeseed

Production systems

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Total planted area was estimated at over 7 million hectares in the 2015-2016 season. Production and crop management has historically been very expensive, labor intensive, and has a low level of mechanization due to inefficiencies. A rise in the usage of modern tools and a pressure to keep up with global demand has increased Chinese rapeseed outputs. Cultivation occurs on small privately owned farms that are less than half a hectare.

References

Import volume and major markets (FAO)

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China imported over 5 million tons of Rapeseed product in 2013. The largest import markets include Canada, Australia, the United Arab Emirates, Germany, and the Netherlands.

References

• Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. "FAOSTAT." http://www.fao.org/faostat/en/#home.

Export volume and major markets (FAO)

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In 2013, China exported just over 160 tons of rapeseed, over 17 thousand tons of rapeseed oil, and nearly 73 thousand tons of rapeseed cake. Major export markets include Canada, Korea, Japan, Thailand, and Viet Nam.

References

• Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. "FAOSTAT." http://www.fao.org/faostat/en/#home.

Region(s) of production

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The three main growing provinces of rapeseed in China are the Hubei province, Sichuan province, and Hunan province, which contribute to over 47% of national production.

References

Average Yield

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Average yield of rapeseed in 2014 was 19 thousand hectograms per hectare. This is lower than the global average at just over 20 thousand hectograms per hectare.

References

• Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. "FAOSTAT." http://www.fao.org/faostat/en/#home.

Production volume (FAO)

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China produced nearly 15 million tons of Rapeseed in 2014; an increase of over 2% from the previous year.

References

• Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. "FAOSTAT." http://www.fao.org/faostat/en/#home.

Stakeholders

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Stakeholders include a few of the largest producers of edible oils in China, Wilmar, Bunge, and COFCO; and, regulatory agencies such as the National Biosafety Committee of Agricultural GMOs (NBC) through the Ministry of Agriculture.

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Traceability

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Chinese farmers tend to use more agrochemicals in production than most countries and therefore China has launched a Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) program to promote the use of organic fertilizers. While there is not a standard traceability model currently in place, a call of action from the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CCCPC) has stated that a service platform be implemented for supervision of food safety and liability insurances.

References

Certification status (in-country)

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Certification of rapeseed happens at a national level through the Center for Quality Supervision and Inspection of Oil and Products of the Chinese Ministry of Agriculture. Also, there is the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection, and Quarantine of the People's Republic of China.

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Presence of Negative Media or Advocacy Attention

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There are no direct reports of negative media attention or special advocacy for rapeseed production in China. The government however has stopped subsidies and price support in 2016. Imports of rapeseed is restricted to only provinces that do no produce the commodity.

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Commodity Driven Land Acquisition

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While there is no evidence that China is acquiring more land for rapeseed production within its own borders, there certainly are reports that they seek to protect their food supply by buying land in Africa and South America.

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Commodity-specific regulatory structure

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There is a Regulations on Safety and Agricultural GMOs and an Implementation Regulations on Safety Assessment of Agricultural GMOs that assesses dangers and potential risks posed by GMOs to humans. There is also a National Biosafety Committee of Agricultural GMOs (NBC) which is compliant to the Ministry of Agriculture.

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Major uses of commodity

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Rapeseed is primarily used to create Canola oil which is used in cooking. Also, there is evidence that rapeseed can be converted in to a bio-fuel.

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Extent of in-country processing

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There are reports that indicate a surge for in-country rapeseed crushing in to Canola oil. Soybean crushing facilities are being switched over to accommodate rapeseed and a few new locations are planned for construction. Current crushing capacity in China is estimated above 40 million megatons per year.

References

Disruption of Community Resource Access

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There is limited research to suggest that rapeseed production has a caused disruptions in community resource access. However, with an expansion of harvest area during the period between 2010-2014, it is possible that increased agrochemical runoff has tainted drinking water sources.

References

• Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. "FAOSTAT." http://www.fao.org/faostat/en/#home.

Commodity Disruption of Ecosystem Services

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There is limited evidence linking Chinese rapeseed production with a disruption in ecosystem services. More pests are becoming common in certain regions of production, possibly due to climate change, and pesticide spending has increased; causing rapeseed to be uneconomic for some growers. This uptick in agrochemical usage can lead to increased runoff in to important rivers like the Yangtze, which is threatened by eutrophication from agricultural inputs.

References

• “Threat of Pollution in the Yangtze.” 2015. http://wwf.panda.org/about_our_earth/about_freshwater/freshwater_problems/river_decline/10_rivers_risk/yangtze/yangtze_threats/.