CHINA'S MAIZE PRODUCTION AND SUPPLY FROM A PROVINCIAL PERSPECTIVE

China's maize production has experienced rapid growth during the period of on-going economic reforms. However, the magnitude of the growth has varied across regions. The bulk of the increased output has been generated from a few large producing provinces, whereas the increase in other provinces as a whole has been modest. During this period, the general situation of China's domestic maize supply has been dominated by the performance of the few large producing provinces, while China's role in the international maize market has been determined by even fewer of them. Given this fact, government policies in favour of production in these provinces are of significance for further increasing China's total maize output and stabilising the market supply.