China: Domestic buckwheat intensive processing will welcome new opportunities for development

In 2020, unnormal climate conditions and epidemics in China's buckwheat planting areas led to a significant decrease in buckwheat production, with the most affected areas being Shanxi, Shaanxi, Ningxia, and Inner Mongolia. As a result, the total sown area of buckwheat in China reduced by nearly 1.5 million mu compared to 2019, and the total output dropped by approximately 150,000 tons. This has caused a supply shortage and a surge in prices for buckwheat products, which is expected to persist into 2021, with some increase in prices in the first half of the year. However, a decrease in the price of new grains and increased processing costs may lead to a reduction in the price of buckwheat products later in the year. Experts recommend that buckwheat production enterprises should seize the opportunity and develop high value-added products, special foods based on buckwheat, and expand into new markets to increase consumer groups and profitability. They also suggest enterprises should upgrade traditional food and improve processing technology to meet the needs of consumers for health and taste. The favorable development environment for buckwheat planting and processing is expected to last for 2-3 years.