Food Safety Pressures Push Integration in China's Agricultural Sector

Biosecurity and disease management in China’s animal agriculture sector

“…Similar responses can be seen today as China's government and animal agriculture sector address a wide array of disease and product quality problems (Gale and Hu, 2011;Pei et al, 2011;Jia et al, 2012). It is now government policy to encourage larger, more standardized and vertically integrated production systems while parts of the private sector have responded to demands for quality assurance.…”

Structure Changes in Food System and China's Concerns with Food Safety Policy

“…However, due to the land scarcity and fragmentation, intensification of agricultural production, rapid industrialization and the expansion of food production sectors, longer food supply chains, and the globalization of food supply systems, the domestic food supply system often falls behind the demand for food safety. In combination with a shortage in regulatory capacity, food safety risks have increased (Gale and Buzby 2009; Gale and Hu 2012).…”

“…As the small food businesses have little access to capital and advanced technology with high speed mobility of entering and exiting markets, it is very difficult for adequate monitoring (Li 2009). In addition, fragmented production and processing make the development of a traceability systems difficult and adulteration of foods hard to detect (Gale and Hu 2012). Overall, farming and food industry fragmentations in the large and complex food system in China results in highly competitive food markets with strong pressure for cost minimization that can lead to unsafe practices in the absence of adequate regulations and enforcement capacity.…”

Food Safety, Market Organization, Trade and Development

“…Without adequate training and use of safe practices, and without adequate tracking systems to link problems to specific farm producers, some farmers can send products to food distribution channels with high residue levels of feed additives, toxic chemicals and other contaminants, and microbial contamination. However, the ability to detect and control food safety problems is limited by the fragmented marketing system, the number of smallvolume cash exchanges that occur, and limited testing of product quality (Calvin et al 2006;Huang et al 2009;Gale and Hu 2012).…”

“…Since the 1980s, various supply network models have emerged, including relatively tightly controlled vertically integrated farming organizations that may lease land and hire labor, "company plus farmer" models that involve production contracting with farmers and may include specifications for inputs and other variations that strengthen backward linkages between retailers and producers (Gale and Hu 2012). Government and industry have encouraged increased control of supply networks in order to enhance available information about production, processing, and handling of products that enter retail and export channels.…”