The impact of potato planting industry on employment and overall economic development in 2018

By CnAgri2018-12-13 13:57:45 Print In 2018, national sown area of potato reached 5.806 million hectares, which can allow 1.2396 million people to reach the rural per capita income level, up 4.85% from the previous year; it can beer 1.73 million people to reach the urban per capita income level, down 3.45% year-on-year.
The annual output value of potato planting was 173.2 billion yuan in 2018, an increase of 6.77% over the previous year. It’s more than three times that of soybean, accounting for 2.76% of the total agricultural production value. Although the sown area of potato was much lower than that of soybean, the production and output value ranks of potato ranked fourth among all food crops. The productivity per unit area of potato is higher than that of soybean, which makes soybean production replaced by potato planting. Seed industry and industrialized operation are the key factors to restore soybean production in China.
The total profit of potato planting industry was 38.8 billion yuan, an increase of 27.24% over the previous year. Comprehensively considering five major food crops, potato is the only profitable crop, mainly due to the consumption characteristics of potato.
For the growth in potato planting profit, the disposable income of farmers increased by 8.3 billion yuan; the total social demand grew by 41.6 billion yuan, which accounted for 0.04% of the total social demand and 0.05% of the annual GDP; the overall social net income rose by 12.9 billion yuan; the overall employment increased by 1.91 million.
In terms of potato prices, in 2018, the wholesale price and the retail price of potatoes were 2,497 yuan/ton and 4,119 yuan/ton, which were respectively 2.14 times and 3.53 times higher than  farmers’ selling price. The total sales of potatoes in wholesale markets reached 324.9 billion yuan, up 6.40% year-on-year, and the total retail sales at mall terminals were 625.4 billion yuan, increasing by 1.68% over the previous year. If agricultural producers realize industrialized operation, farmers' products will be directly sold to wholesale markets through agricultural cooperatives and other organizations, and the profits of farmers will be greatly improved. If potatoes are further distributed to terminal consumers, the profits of farmers will be higher.
Complicated circulation links and higher transportation expense of agricultural products  cause low selling prices of grain by farmers and high prices of food bought by residents. In particular, fresh agricultural products should be directly supplied by producers within 180 km of the local area to achieve effective connection of production and consumption, and greatly reduce circulation costs. Multiple transactions will inevitably lead to a substantial increase in the costs of production and circulation as well as low selling prices of grain by farmers and high prices of food bought by residents. Achieving effective connection of production and sales is the key to the current supply-side reform.