Comparative Advantage And Production Structural Adjustment In Chinese Agriculture

With the process of economic globalization, agricultural trade has been showing the trend of liberalization. After China抯 acceding to the WTO, the Chinese agriculture production will be charged intensively by international market, and then the smooth operation of rural economy and national economy will be influenced. Since Open-reforming, great achievements have taken place in China抯 agriculture. However, the prices of main agricultural products have dropped extensively and stayed on a low level for a long time since 1996. The agriculture increase has shifted from the period of restriction of resources to the stage of restriction of both resources and market. In this period, structural adjustment, which is guided by market, centers on benefit and aims at income improvement, has been the urgent task of agricultural development. The theory of comparative advantage tells us that, in open economy, every country should arrange her domestic production and trade to improve the efficiency of resources allocation and to promote the social welfare according to the principle of comparative advantage. In addition, the theory also asks every country to reallocate the production regions and adjust each region抯 production structure in terms of regional comparative advantage. Owing to planned economy, especially the governmental interference with the production of main grain such as cotton and oil crop, the backward infrastructure of transportation and store, the hindrance of information spread, small scale of farm and loose organization, the integrated market of agricultural products hasn抰 formed and agricultural production is somewhat blind and self-sufficient in China. Therefore, with the deepening of the market-oriented reform, the margin of structural adjustment still exists and is likely to be expanded. Despite of the pressure of international competition after China抯 accession to the WTO, it also makes it possible for China to expand the margin of structural adjustment. We should face the reality, seize the chance, welcome the challenge and make a detailed study on our comparative advantage, especially the regional comparative advantage, to provide scientific basis for structural adjustment. On the basis of the theory of the comparative advantage, this research measures the potential comparative advantages, the resources allocation efficiency, and protection on production of main agricultural products in China. Then it analyzes the differences of comparative advantage between provinces and comparative advantage of main agricultural / 2; products in each province and provides advice on the adjustment of Chinese agriculture production and structural adjustment of agriculture in each region. Aiming at the agricultural production of the whole country and each province in China, the thesis is implemented from country and province respectively. It measures the comparative advantage of main grain products (including Early indica rice, Middle indica rice, Late indica rice, Round-grained rice, Wheat, Corn, Soybean, Sorghum, Millet), main cash crop products (including Peanut, Rapeseed, Sesame, Cotton, Flue-cured tobacco, Rnmie, Sugarcane, Sugar beet, Cocoon, Tea, Apple, Citrus) and main animal products (including Live pig, Beef cattle, Mutton sheep, Chicken, Egg, Milk cow, Freshwater fish ) of country and each province from 1993 to 1998. Then the research analyzes the change la...