The Status of EAA in China and Its Reform Ideas
Mingmei Zhang,
NBS, No.57, Yuetan Nanjie, Shanlihe,
Beijing 100826,
P.R. China
Agriculture is an important sector in China. The Agriculture Gross Value-Added (GVA) took a share of 11.8 percent to Chinese GDP in 2006. The economic accounts for agriculture (EAA) is the basis of national economic accounts.
Before the year 2000, the calculation of Agriculture Gross Value was based on constant price in 1990.
After the year 2000, the calculation of Agriculture Gross Value was based on comparable price . The growth rate was applied the price single deflator method .
The reason why apply the price single deflator method is:
The structure of agricultural products and their prices changes, no longer reflect the current structure of agricultural products and their price changes.
So, in 2000, NBS improved the list of agricultural products for the calculation of gross output in agriculture, and developed a survey on producer prices of agricultural products.
This article main contents: Ⅰ) the coverage of the EAA;Ⅱ) the collection of basic data;Ⅲ) the calculating methods for quarterly and
annual agriculture gross output value, its value-added and its growth rate;
Ⅳ) the management on accounting results;Ⅴ) some problems in China’s EAA;Ⅵ) suggestions on improving China’s EAA in
the future.
The content of agricultural accounting covers five divisions:
Farming
Forestry
Animal husbandry
Fishing and service activities for farming, forestry, animal husbandry and fishing.
Ⅰ. Coverage of Accounting
Farming includes four groups: cereals and other crops; vegetables and horticultural crops; fruits, nuts, beverage and spice crops; traditional Chinese medicinal materials. Forestry includes three groups: cultivation and growing of forests,
logging of timbers and bamboos, and forest products.
Animal husbandry covers five groups:
raising of livestock;
raising of hogs;
raising of poultry and etc. Fishing covers two groups:
seawater aquatic products ;
freshwater aquatic products
(see below table)
I. Farm Procuct 1. Cereal and Other Crops A. Cereal
B. Tubers
C. Oil-bearing Crops
D. BeansE. CottonF. Fiber CropsG. Sugar CropsH. TobaccoI. Other Crops2. Vegetables and Horticultural Crops3. Fruits4. Nuts5. Beverage and spice crops6. Traditional Chinese medicinal materialsII. Forest Product1.Cultivation and Growing of Forests2. Logging of Bamboos and Timbers3. Collection of Forest ProductsIII. Animal husbandry1. Raising of Livestock2. Raising of Pigs3. Poultry4. Other Animal husbandryIV. Fishing1. Seawater Product2. Freshwater aquatic products
Output of Agricultural Products Annual Statistical Report on Production of Farming, Forestry, Animal husbandry, and Fishing.
Ⅱ. Data Sources
Prices of Agricultural Products and deflators
the agricultural
producers’ price
sampling survey
and key case survey
Ratios of Value-Added
annual surveys
on intermediate
consumption and
input-output
survey
III. Calculating Methods National data are obtained through
tabulation of all provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities.
Output value at current price = output of products * produce price.
Output value at comparable price = output value at current price / deflator.
Growth rate = output value at comparable price / output value at current price.
Annual value added at current prices = total output value - intermediate consumption
Quarterly value added at current pricesare = gross output value * ratios of value-added.
Prices of agriculture products
Average price of one unit of one representative agricultural product
Average price of all units of one province of a representative agricultural product
Representative products are selected for all divisions in agriculture section, that is farming, forestry, animal husbandry and fishing, cover over 90 percent of classes.
NBS formulated the representative category and products for the national producers’ price survey on agricultural products, including 4 divisions: farming, forestry, animal husbandry and fishing, 14 groups, 30 classes and 180 representative products
Price index of agriculture products
Price index of one unit of a representative products
Price index of all units of a representative products
Price index of all units of small representative categories of products
Price index of all units of middle representative categories of products
Price index of all units of large representative categories of products
Calculation of the weights of representative products
The weight for the sales of agricultural products is calculated mainly based on its sales values, and those of all representative products sales totals to 1000, and those of output value of all representative products sum up to 1000.
An example of a scheme for deriving weights
CodeOutput value
Represent large
category weight
Weights (shares) of medium
category in a large
category
1 2 3
1. Farming - total A 4209775 405.85 1000
a) Others (non-representative) 668132 0
b) Sum of the representative medium categories
A' 3541643 1000
1.1 Corn and other cereals 1.1' 1369544 386.7
1.2 Vegetables 1.2' 1039272 293.44
1.3 Fruits and nuts 1.3' 1132827 319.86
IV. Joint Data Review and Data Dissemination procedure
Since 2005, China has conducted periodic national reviews to cross-check data at the lower level to data at the national level. The data are checked to see if prices of goods are covered by surveys, and the products selected for price surveys are truly representative, thus the appropriateness of deflation indexes. Data are disseminated only after verification.
V. Main Problems of China’s Agricultural Statistics
1. Statistics on agricultural basic data has yet satisfied all the needs of accounting.
ⅰ) Part of agricultural products such as wield plants and Chinese medicinal materials has not been fully covered;
ⅱ)The output of animal husbandry only includes hogs and cattle on a sample survey basis;
ⅲ)The quantity indicators used for estimating vegetables and fruits need to be improved;
ⅳ) Aquatic products, forest products and new industrial products selected for price surveys may not be representative.
2. Absence of statistical basis for service activities for agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry and fishing.
VI. Some Ideas on Agriculture Accounting in the Future
1.The first is to advance statistics on farming, forestry, animal husbandry, and fishing products; the second is to appropriately increase statistics on output of quarter agricultural products.
2.Enlarge the coverage of samples of agricultural products price survey
3.Strengthen the management of agriculture accounting data
4.Pay more attention to the research of statistical method on service activities for agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry and fishing
5. Perfect agriculture accounting and its related professional data evaluation system
Thank you!