Welcome Remarks

Strengthening the capacity on agricultural outlook plays a significant role in enabling the market to play a decisive role, balancing production and demand of major agricultural products, and enhancing food security and agriculture sustainable development. In accordance with the assignment and directives from the Ministry of Agriculture (MOA), the "2014 China Agricultural Outlook Conference (AOC)" will be held in Beijing from April 20-21, 2014. This event, hosted by Agricultural Information Institute of Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS), aims to foster information exchange via discussion sessions on 18 topics covering grain, oilseed, meat, vegetable, and other agricultural products, agricultural resources and environment, agricultural support policies, etc. On behalf of the Organizing Committee, I would like to sincerely invite you to participate in this conference.

Conference contents are as follows: (1) Releasing China Agricultural Outlook Report. The conference will release China Mid-long Term Agricultural Outlook and commodity reports, covering grain, cotton, oilseed, sugar, meat, eggs, milk, vegetable and fruit, and other agricultural products. (2) Discussing macroeconomic and agricultural hot topics. AOC will organize seminars on pressing topics relating to China's agricultural development, such as agricultural resources and environment, agricultural support policies, agricultural insurance, agricultural scientific and technological innovation, etc. (3) Sharing the latest accomplishments in the theories and methods in the areas of agricultural outlook, agricultural monitoring and early-warning. The conference will facilitate academic exchange pertaining to achievements in agricultural outlook methods and models, agricultural monitoring and early-warning technology, agricultural big data, agricultural information collection and data processing technology, agricultural information analysis methods and technology.

2014 China Agricultural outlook conference, the first of its kind in this country, aims to enhance the transparency of Chinese agricultural market, strengthen information sharing, capitalize on market opportunities, improve agricultural early warning capacity and mitigate agricultural risks, and ultimately contribute to the modern agricultural development under new circumstances. The conference will invite officials from relevant ministries, scientific research institutions, universities, well-known enterprises and international organizations, as well as professionals and scholars in the fields of agricultural information, market early warning, agricultural outlook, to jointly discuss the development of China's agriculture in the next decade.

We look forward to meeting you in the spring of 2014 in Beijing!

Xu Shiwei

2014 China Agricultural Outlook Conference Secretary General of Organizing Committee