Promar Consulting has completed several new reports on agricultural issues in Asia for Japan’s Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF), which are now available on the MAFF website (in Japanese only). Promar analyzed the agricultural-related developments in China, Thailand and Indonesia. Here are some of the topics discussed in the report:

• China has created a new agriculture policy framework that will last until 2015, in accordance with the 12^th Five Year Plan set in 2011. Although agricultural production has been meeting targets, China’s agricultural land area and farm labor force has been decreasing as the country developes . Therefore the objective of the 12^th Five Year Plan was to provide guidelines for consistent productivity in the long run. Our report summarizes the key issues including the recent changes in agricultural policy, the “Three Agricultural Challenges” (san nong wenti) concept, and the implementation of the new policies.

• In 2011, Thailand revived its “paddy pledge program” under PM Yingluck Shinawatra’s administration which had a huge impact on Thai and Asian rice prices.  The controversial paddy pledge program allowed Thai rice farmers to receive an  above-market rice price when selling to the government. The “paddy pledge program” has distorted the Asian rice supply and demand, and Thailand has dropped from being the world’s largest rice exporter to the third largest, trailing India and Vietnam.

• Indonesia aims to secure a higher food self-sufficiency rate and to increase rice production. Although Indonesia has reached self-sufficiency, the policy seeks to provide a long term structure in which Indonesia could secure higher self-sufficiency of rice in the long run. In this report, Promar analyzed Indonesian rice production, import volumes, distribution, and looked at the rice policy in detail.

The 2012 Report on Agricultural Issues in China, Thailand, and Indonesia is divided into 4 sections for easy downloading.

Main Page: 2012 Report on Agricultural Issues in China, Thailand, and Indonesia

http://www.maff.go.jp/j/kokusai/kokusei/kaigai_nogyo/k_syokuryo/h24.html#asia

Section 1: The 12^th Five Year Plan and the Future for “3 Agricultural Challenges” in China

http://www.maff.go.jp/j/kokusai/kokusei/kaigai_nogyo/k_syokuryo/pdf/01asia_china.pdf

Section 2: Agricultural Production and Policy in China’s Northeast Provinces

http://www.maff.go.jp/j/kokusai/kokusei/kaigai_nogyo/k_syokuryo/pdf/02asia_china.pdf

Section 3: The Impact of Thailand’s Floods and its “Paddy Pledging Program” on Agricultural Policy

http://www.maff.go.jp/j/kokusai/kokusei/kaigai_nogyo/k_syokuryo/pdf/03asia_thailand.pdf

Section 4: Policy and Current Status of Indonesia’s Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries  Sectors.

http://www.maff.go.jp/j/kokusai/kokusei/kaigai_nogyo/k_syokuryo/pdf/04asia_indonesia.pdf