【英语中国】Potash竞购正酣 中国推广化肥使用

BHP Billiton's bid for Canada's Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan isn't the only big thing happening in fertilizer these days. As global attention focuses on that takeover battle, Chinese government officials have fanned out across the country urging greater use of fertilizers to enhance this year's rice output.

The government's efforts are not directly tied to the merger theatrics over Potash Corp., but they do underscore why China cares so much about fertilizer. Officials are worried about the looming autumn grain harvest, as rice output remains one of its most crucial variables. Rice accounts for 40% of China's grain output.

China Grains Network, the research arm of state grains stockpiler Sinograin Corp., said in a report Thursday that the Ministry of Agriculture sent teams to nine provinces this month to speed the implementation of a fertilizer-subsidy program for paddy cultivation.

Food security is a top policy priority for Beijing, as it prides itself on feeding more than one fifth of the world's population on less than a tenth of global arable land.

The Agriculture Ministry followed up by convening industry conferences in 12 provinces and sending agronomists to promote fertilizer techniques, the Sinograin report said.

These measures reinforced a 1.1 billion yuan, or roughly $162 million, subsidy for fertilizers approved Aug. 11 by the State Council, China's cabinet.

Rice output, delayed by a week this spring on weather concerns, remains a big question mark for China.

China's summer grain output declined 0.3% this year to 123.1 million metric tons, underlining anxieties in the world's most populous nation that the overall harvest could end six consecutive years of record grain production.

As these anxieties grow by the year, so has the emphasis on fertilizers that promote greater yields per acre.

Even before potash--one of three main fertilizer components - became a big issue with BHP's $38.6 billion bid for Potash Corp., Chinese companies had already sought to secure more of the commodity.

Chinese companies have five potash projects in Laos, one of which is in production, the China Inorganic Salt Industry Association said this week.

Chinese firms also are pursuing two exploration projects for potash in Canada, fairly near Potash Corp. in Saskatchewan, as well as two projects in Congo.

'The strategy is not just to buy potash, but to take direct stakes,' the association said.

China is the world's largest consumer of potash, importing about half of its eight million tons in demand last year, according to the association.

The Potash Corp. play, intertwined with questions over how the commodity ought to be priced, focuses attention on a segment of the agriculture industry chain.

But Beijing's push to promote fertilizer use paints a bigger picture underscoring food security as a rising national agendum.

和必拓（BHP Billiton）竞购加拿大钾肥公司Potash Corp.并不是化肥业最近唯一的大事件。当全球的目光都集中于此竞购战时，中国政府官员已经在全国倡导使用更多的化肥以提高今年大米的产量。

中国政府此举与Potash Corp.的竞购事件并无直接关联，但他们同时强调了中国如此重视化肥的原因。中国官员担心即将来临的粮食秋收不容乐观，大米产量仍是中国最重要的变量之一。大米占中国粮食总产量的40%。

中国储备粮管理总公司(Sinograin Corp.)旗下研究机构中华粮网（China Grains Network）在周四的报告中说，本月农业部向九个省份派遣了工作小组，以加快实施化肥补贴政策，保证稻米耕种。

食品安全是中国政府政策工作的重中之重，因为这个国家用世界不到十分一的耕地养活全球五分之一多的人口，并引以为豪。

报告说，农业部接下来又在12个省召开了行业会议，并派遣农学家帮助提高施肥技术。

这些举措进一步加强了国务院8月11日审核通过的11亿元人民币（约1.62亿美元）的化肥补贴政策。

今年的大米春耕由于天气原因推迟了一周，所以今年的大米产量对中国来说仍是一个未知数。

中国的夏粮产量今年为1.231亿吨，下降了0.3%，使得这个世界上人口最多的国家更加担忧，这意味着连续六年不断创新高的粮食产量纪录可能难以持续。

随着担忧加剧，人们于是更加重视能够提高单位产量的化肥。

即使在钾──这一化肥三大主要元素之一，随着必和必拓对Potash Corp.386亿美元的收购提议成为重要问题之前，中国的公司就已经开始想办法如何确保筹到更多的钾肥了。

中国无机盐工业协会本周说，中国公司在老挝有五个钾项目，其中一个已经在生产。

中国公司同时也正在着手于加拿大两个钾矿开采项目，它们离Potash Corp.很近，另外还有两个项目在刚果。

中国无机盐工业协会说，我们的战略不仅仅是购买钾，而是要占据直接主导地位。

协会说，中国是世界上最大的钾消费国，去年800万吨的需求量中约有一半都来自进口。

与其产品如何定价的问题交织在一起的Potash Corp.竞购战把注意力放在了农业产业链的一个环节。

而中国政府敦促加强化肥使用的举动则意味着粮食安全在国家议程中的地位更加突出。