AGRICULTURAL RESOURCES OF EAST CHINA

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP80-00809A000700170348-6
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: U
• Document Page Count: 5
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: September 2, 2011
• Sequence Number: 348
• Publication Date: April 19, 1954
• Content Type: REPORT

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AGRICULTURAL RESOURCES OF EAST CHINA
Chin -chi Tao- ao, (Economic Bulletin)
Hong Kong, 17, 2T+ Mar 1953
[Summarj,:
as a On a national basis, the East China Area ranks first
silk-producing region, with Chekiang Province providing over one
half of the. silk production for the region. In oil crop production,
soybeans are the main crop and Shantung is the leader in total output.
East China also leads in the growin- of tea, is second in tobacco pro-
duction, and had fishing yields of 900,000 tons in 1952.]
Bast China is the greatest silk producing region of the nation,
during
the war, this area was systematically destroyed by the Japanese. In
the but 3 years
since liberation, East China has gradually been restored and has made much pro-
gress.
Silk production of East China, taking 1949 production as 100, was 189 in
1952, and the number of households in which silkworms were raised doubled in
that period. The average production for each tray of silkworms in 1952 was
172 (based on 1949 as 100). Of the provinces of East China, Chekiang leads in
silk production, its output being core than one half for the tota~ production
in this area.
In seasonal production, the spring output is higher than the fall. Taking
the annual production as 100, the spring production is 82 and the fall production
in 18.
Cocoon Production From Domestic Silkworms
(Based on preliberation production as 100)
Year
Spring
Fall
1950
140
134
1951
.153
138
1952
172
149
Taking the total East China production as 100, the 1952 domestic silk pro-
duction figures for the silk producing provinces are: Chekiang 60, Kiangsu 33,
Shantung 6, and Anhwei 1. Wild silk is also produced in Shantung by many farmers
as a secondary industry.
Oil Crops
East China has abundant and varied oil crops. Soybeans are the main crop
in this area, and Shantung Province produces almost one half of the total East
China oil crop production.
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East China
Oil Crop
Crop Output as 100
Shantung,
Soybeans 65.1
65.4
Peanuts ?,14.9
23.3
Seasame Seeds
1.4
0.7
Tea Seeds
6.3
--
Cottonseed
11.8
10.5
Kiangsu Anhwei Chekiang Fukien
59.3 78.o 6.1 46.5
8.3 4.2 50.0 42.2
-- 4.1
9.0 9.0 34.0 11.0
23.0 4.5 16.0 --
Taking the total East China oil crop production as 100, comparative
figures for the individual provinces are: Shantung 47.7, Kiangsu 21.3, Anhwei
22.5,Chekiang 6.1, and Fukien 2.5.
According to estimates, East China produces about 2,200,000 piculs of pea-
nut oil and about 1,700,000 piculs of soybean oil annually. With the addition
of oil produced from tea seed, cottonseed, and sesame seed, the total East
China oil production is estimated to be 7-8 million piculs annually. Even
though soybeans are the largest oil seed crop in East China, the production of
oil from soybeans is considerably less than from peanuts since large quantities
of soybeans are shipped out of the area.
East China Edible Oil Production
(Based on oil total production as 100)
Type
Entire
Area
Shantung
Kiangsu
Anhwei
Chekiang
Fukien
Peanuts
31.2
23.0
3.7
2.3
--
2.0
Soybeans
25.6
12.4
4,5
7.0
1.5
Rapeseed
25.0
4.5
7.5
8.2
7.7
1.3
Cottonseed
11.2
0.1
4.5
1.0
0.1
--
Sesame Seed
7.0
--
0.1
East China also ranks first as the tea producing region in the nation.
According to 1952 statistics, East China tea production was one half of the
national total. Chekiang and Anhwei are the main tea producing provinces in
the area. Their combined tea output is 87 percent of the total East China pro-
duction, and approximately four ninths of the national production. Tea is
grown in almost the entire province of Chekiang whereas in Anhwei production
is concentrated in the southern portion of the province,. Percentage of national
tea production for the administrative areas of China in 1952 is as follows:
East China 50, Central ,South China 38, the Southwest 11, and the Ik.rthwest one.
The production of tea in the provinces of East China in 1952 was: Chekiang 46.2
percent, Anhwei 40.8 percent, Fukien 12.9 percent, and Kiangsu 0.1 percent.
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in recent r? ~i~u u, green tea in East China is still predominant,
years the red tea output has been gradually increasing because of ex-
ports to the Soviet Union and to the East European countries which are mar'ets
for this particular type of tea. Also, the world market for green tea has been
shrinking year by year.
In East China, green tea is grown in Fukien; Chekiang and Anhwei have
been mainly producing green tea, with red tea secondary, but in the past 2 years
key areas have switched to growing red tea. Taking East China's total pro-
duction as 100, the output of tea in 1952 was: green tea 70.63, red tea 27.59,
black tea 1.77, and white tea Pa-ch'a 0.01
Tobacco
In 1952, East China tobacco production, which is second highest in the
nation, was six times that of the prewar period end 40 percent of the total
national output. Several varieties of tobacco are grown in the East China area.
Sun-cured type tobacco is grown in all the provinces of the area and flue-cured
type tobacco is grown fairly extensively in Shantung and Anhwei. These two
types provide the main raw material for the manufacture of cigarettes. Turkish
type tobacco for the manufacture of cigars is grown in Chekiang; foreign aromatic
tobaccos, such as "Sha-mu-hsun, K'a-to-na, "Ssu-mei-na," etc., are grown in
the Hsin-ch'ang area of Chekiang.
In 1935, the Chinese export and import of tobacco was in the approximate
ratio of 14 to 11, that is, exports exceeded imports slightly. In 1946, the
volume of imported tobacco was 19 times that of exported tobacco, and in 1947,
tobacco imports were 21 times the exports. In the 2 years of 1946 and 1947,
China's tobacco exports were only one fourteenth of the amount exported in the
prewar period, and imports had increased 100 percent over the prewar level.
After liberation, conditions were changed. Beginning in 1950, exports be-
gan to exceed imports., and in the last 2 years have shown great increases. The
ratios of exports and imports were: in 1950, 3.5:0.5; in 1951, 31:1; in 1952,
there were no imports. In 1952, exports were over 100 percent greater than for
the prewar period and 30-31 times that of the 1946-47 export figure.
Fish
With the exception of Anhwei all the provinces of East China border the sea.
The coastline of these provinces totals 7,100 kilometers and there are about
800,000, square kilometers of fishing grounds. In addition, East China has 31
million mou of fresh water fishing grounds. According to the most conservative
estimates, the annual yields of the East China fishing areas should total more
than 3 million tons. According to 1952 statistics, there are 50,000 fresh-water
fishing boats and 130,000 salt-water fishing boats in East China. In 1952, fish-
ing yields amounted to 900,000 tons.
Conclusion
On an annual basis, the rich agricultural resources of East China can
provide the following for each inhabitant of the area: 3 shih-mou of arable
land, 600 catties of grain, 4 catties of cotton (enough for 3.5 feet of cotton
cloth), 0.5 catty of silk (enough for 1.5 silk undershirts), 6 catties of oil,
10 chicken eggs, 15 catties of pork, and 13 catties of sea food.
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