Tongzhou district has made great efforts to improve the grain categories and reserves as the grain purchase and sale system has been deepening since 2001.

The district has set up a three-level emergency supply system, and grains are stored by the central government, provincial government and city government.

“Originally our grain depot only has state grain reserves, but in 2003, we also had local grain reserves,” said Bao Xianfei, an official from the commerce bureau of the district.

“We only had wheat before, but since 2005, we increased our grain reserves,” said Bao who has worked in grain management for 36 years. “Now we have many varieties of grain reserves, including rice, flour, and edible oil,” he said.

“Now we have local grain reserves of about 40,000 tons,” Bao said. “At any time, the emergency supply mechanism is crucial,” he added.

“Currently, we have rice reserves of 700 tons, flour of 350 tons, edible oil of 200 tons and they are stored in grain and oil processing factories and grain shops,” Bao said.

The district set a price threshold for wheat and rice in 2004 and 2006 respectively to ensure the farmers’ revenue and stabilize market grain price.

In 2017, the revenue of the State-owned grain purchasing and selling enterprises in Tongzhou district exceeded 10 million yuan ($1.45 million), a new record. Besides, Tongzhou district has ranked the first in terms of the profits from State-owned grain purchasing and selling enterprises for 17 consecutive years since 2001.