Overcoming the "short-board effect" of high-quality wheat needs to meet consumer demand

Overcoming the "short board effect" of wheat needs to meet consumer demand

Lack of supply and demand, low operating rate of processing enterprises

China's wheat production has been harvested for 12 years and has grown at an annual rate of 2.5 million tons in the past five years. At the same time, due to factors such as international trade, price differences, and shortage of domestic special wheat, a certain amount of wheat is imported each year (3.3 million tons per year).

In the context of the economy's entry into the “new normal” and loose supply and demand, the domestic wheat processing industry has been hit by international wheat prices, further reducing the possibility of policy support prices. The domestic wheat market showed a downturn, and the destocking was resisted by the price-selling policy. The operating rate of wheat processing enterprises remained at a low level, and the whole industry operated at a guaranteed level of survival.

Through the merger and reorganization, the wheat processing enterprises in China have further expanded their scale and the number of enterprises has decreased significantly. In 2014, the national wheat processing capacity reached 221 million tons (required at 100 million tons), an increase of about 11 million tons from the previous year. The number of wheat processing enterprises has continued to decline, while the number of enterprises above designated size (more than 500 tons of wheat per day) still has a certain increase. Due to the rapid increase in labor costs and the squeeze of large enterprises, the survival pressure of enterprises with a daily processing capacity of less than 500 tons has further increased. Under the dual pressure of market competition and policy adjustment, the wheat processing industry in 2016 will face new pressures and challenges such as “de-capacity, destocking, cost reduction, and short-board”. The wheat processing industry must undergo supply-side structural reform. .

Wheat "short board effect" is particularly prominent

At present, the development of China's wheat industry is facing a continuous decline in the efficiency of wheat, the international competitiveness of wheat is declining, the further promotion of science and technology is limited by the scale of production, the industrialization organization model is difficult to adapt to new requirements, the production of wheat faces resource and environmental constraints, and policy. Support for major issues such as smaller and smaller spaces.

In the 1990s, the State Council's strategy of developing “two highs and one excellent agriculture” laid the foundation for the development of wheat in China, and initially laid out the technical system for the production, storage and market of strong gluten and weak gluten wheat in China. However, due to the imperfect system and policy system or the influence of departmental responsibilities and interests, the “short-board effect” is particularly prominent in the context of today's international market shocks and rapid changes in domestic demand.

The lack of high-yield and stable products required for production, the reported wheat area is large, and the actual available wheat is limited.

Second, wheat storage and storage is not included in the national grain storage and storage system, and there is no institutional guarantee for high prices.

Third, the market-oriented operation of wheat production is now subject to international wheat prices, free trade policies, and small planting scales.

Fourth, the industrialization and marketization of wheat is subject to both policy and credit constraints, making it difficult to achieve economies of scale.

Meet the needs of consumers and achieve effective supply

In response to the pressures and challenges faced by the wheat processing industry, it is suggested that the top-level design of the supply-side structural reform should be done from the following aspects:

Improve product quality and meet consumer demand. In the current context of loose supply and demand in the food market, stabilizing and improving food quality and safety, meeting market-specific and individualized needs, is the main driving force and source of benefits for the development of agricultural products processing and food manufacturing enterprises. A survey conducted by the author's team on ramen consumers who consume different quality flours for ramen shows that most consumers can distinguish ramen noodles made from flour, even if they use the same craftsmanship and ingredients. This shows that the quality of ingredients is not the whole demand of consumers. The practice of replacing the properties of natural raw materials with additives is not welcomed by most consumers.

Extend the industrial chain and improve profitability. By analyzing the industrial structure of international multinational food groups, it is not difficult to find that the industrial structure of these enterprises has the characteristics of chain layout, extension and extension, aiming end, and overall income. For example, CBH Group, Australia's largest food distributor, has built more than 200 wheat acquisition grain storage sites, four storage and handling terminals, and a food processing center to meet new demands for Australian wheat in different parts of the world and to manufacture food. And the food market extends.

Rely on technological innovation to achieve leapfrog development. Today, as the entire manufacturing industry develops toward automation and intelligence, technological innovation, technology integration and technology demonstration in agricultural product processing and food manufacturing are particularly important for the leap-forward development of the industry. Hebei Jinshahe Noodle Industry Group has cooperated with scientific research institutes for many years, adopting key technologies such as independent research and development, new technology digestion and integration, consumer market research and analysis, focusing on new product development, and upgrading the technical route of noodle production line, so that the daily processing volume of single noodle production line When it reaches 45 tons or more, the number of operators is reduced by 1/3, the energy consumption per ton of drying is reduced by about 20%, and the loss of tons of noodles is less than 0.3%.

Emphasis on model innovation and industrial upgrading. Model innovation of agricultural product processing industry and food manufacturing industry is an important content or measure to optimize industrial structure and enhance industrial efficiency, including marketing model innovation, management model innovation, industry-university-research integration model innovation, talent cultivation and use pattern innovation. For example, the wheat industrialization model created by Shandong Liangshan Wanzhong Planting Cooperative, “three productions are integrated into one production and serviced second production”, solves the problem of quality stability of wheat trade (three productions) and provides for the second production (food industry). Raw materials, also provide production materials, technical guidance and product markets for farmers (one production) engaged in wheat production.

In short, the supply-side reform of the wheat industry is to make the supply of wheat products not only sufficient, but also to meet the needs of consumers in terms of variety, quality, safety, nutrition and convenience. In this regard, the wheat industry should also intensively cultivate wheat production, meet the needs of food manufacturing customers, provide special powder for household consumption, improve sales methods, and consider differences in individualized demand, and truly form a wheat structure with reasonable structure and strong support. Effective supply.

(Original title: The key to achieving an effective supply of wheat products is "structure")