China’s Covid Strategy Jars With Food Security Goal in Northeast

(Bloomberg) -- The conflict between China's Covid-Zero policy and pursuit of food security has come to the fore in Jilin province, with lockdowns disrupting crucial farm work in the country's second-biggest corn growing region.

The northeastern province has been sealed off for weeks amid a surge in infections. That's preventing farmers from going out into the fields to plant crops this spring, adding to the challenges the country faces in securing food supplies at a time when the war in Ukraine has sent prices soaring.

Less clear is how long the disruptions will last and whether this will affect output. China is the biggest corn and soybean importer and has bought record quantities in recent years due to a domestic shortage, contributing to a surge in global prices. As the war in one of the world's major breadbaskets rages on, Chinese buyers have turned to U.S. grains to replace supply from Ukraine. 

Officials in Jilin are aware of the risks, stressing in recent days that epidemic control and spring planting are both key priorities. Authorities are to ensure that farmers can return to their hometowns to work and that supplies of seeds and fertilizers can reach the fields in time, according to local media reports.

“Farming waits for no one,” Jilin authorities said in a WeChat statement late Monday. Farmers can apply to return home from April 5 if they fulfill certain conditions, including having a negative test and not being a close contact. 

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