Minister of Agriculture Du Qinglin said at the national working conference on agriculture Thursday that his ministry regards the WTO entry as a major challenge this year.

The year 2002 is the first year of China's formal WTO membership. And before long, agriculture is expected to face the greatest shake-up from the accession to the global trade body.

7 Items Concerned

Local wheat, soybeans, corn and cotton are less competitive than imported counterparts as far as the quality, cost and output are concerned, said Cheng Guoqiang, an expert with the Development Research Center under the State Council.

7 Plan of Ministry

The ministry vows to grow more strains of the farm produce with high quality and keep reducing the planting areas of other mediocre ones.

Ministry figures showed that last year, China grew about 6 million hectares of high-quality wheat, equal to 25 percent of the total wheat planting areas.

China will not give up protecting and further developing the farm produce like wheat, soybeans, corn and cotton, Du said, as "those are vital to both the country's food security and economic security."

Meanwhile, the country is now eyeing the export of vegetables, fruit and animal products that have long been regarded as supplements to the staple farm produce.

In production of fruit and vegetables China may find its advantage in the cost of laborers, Cheng said.

China, the world's populous country, has a large population, and this has pulled down the cost of some farm produce as a lot of laborers are used instead of machines.

7 Programs to Boost Agricultural Production

A series of programs will be carried out to boost the production of animal products, fish, flowers and processed farm produce, Du said.

7 Inferiority and Problems

However, several indicators for the quality of this produce, such as pesticide residue, still do not meet the standards in export markets like Europe.

"Efforts for improvement will be made in other fields, such as the quarantine system for farm produce," Cheng said.

China exported about 1.8 million tons of fruits in 2000, less than 2 percent of its total output.

The ministry said it will expand the program of pollution-free foods this year. The program will be expanded from four pilot cities to a number of provincial capital cities.

The ministry will also encourage trade organizations in the agriculture industry to protect farmers' interests in the world market, the minister said.

( January 11, 2002)