China’s State Grain Administration (SGA) will conduct grain storage experiments, to counteract the annual estimated loss of 11 million tons of stored grain. Xinhua Net has reported that the SGA plans to install scientifically monitored grain storage systems for three types of grain—corn, rice, and wheat—in Liaoning, Sichuan, and Shandong provinces. Plans include building standardized small grain storage units and installing modern grain storing equipment. The agency will also provide training and technical advice for 23,000 farmers.
Individual farming households store over 60 percent of harvested grain per year. Annual loss is estimated at between 5 to 8 percent per storage facility. The SGA expressed its concern about the waste of precious grain commodities in each storage facility, calling it shocking.
The estimated loss in annual grain reserves is valued at about 20 billion yuan, or approximately 2.6 billion dollars.
