Explanatory Notes on Main Statistical
Indicators
Gross Output Value of Agriculture, Forestry, Animal Husbandry
and Fishery refers to the total value of products of agriculture, forestry,
animal husbandry and fishery, and total value of services in support of
agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry and fishery activities. It reflects the
total scale and results of agricultural production during a given period. Prior
to 1957,
Gross output value of
agriculture is obtained by multiplying the output of each product or by-product
by its price, resulting in the output value of each single item. For a small
number of products, annual output of which is not available or difficult to get
due to the long production (growing) process involved, the output value is
estimated through an indirect approach. The sum of output values of all
products of agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry and fishery and services in
support to those industries is then equal to the gross output value of
agriculture.
Grain Output refers to the total output of grains produced by agricultural
producers within a calendar year. It includes summer grain, early rice and
autumn grain if classified by harvest seasons; it covers cereal, tubers and
beans if classified by type of crops. Output of cereal should be limited to
husked grain only. Output of beans refers to dry beans without pods. The output
of tubers (sweet potatoes and potatoes, not including taros and cassava) are
converted into that of grain at the ratio 4:1, i.e. 4 kilograms of fresh tubers
were equivalent to 1 kilogram of grain up to 1963. Since 1964 the ratio for
conversion has been 5:1. Tubers supplied as vegetables (such as potatoes) in
cities and suburbs are calculated as fresh vegetables and their output is not
included in the output of grain. Data on grain production before 1989 were
obtained through the Comprehensive Statistical Reporting System. Since 1989,
data from sample surveys are used.
Cotton Output refers to cotton production in the whole country including cotton
planted in spring and in autumn. Output is measured as the weight of ginned
cotton. Ceiba is not included.
Output of Oil-bearing Crops refers to the total production of oil-bearing crops of various kinds,
including peanuts (dry, in shell), rapeseeds, sesame, sunflower seeds, flax
seeds, and other oil-bearing crops. Soybeans, oil-bearing woody plants, and
wild oil-bearing crops are not included.
Output of Aquatic Products refers to final output actually yielded from fishing production
(fishery and breeding), including all output of marine and freshwater fish,
crustaceans (shrimps, crabs), shellfish, cephalopod, seaweed and other fishery
products. Data on output of aquatic products are reported by aquatic product
and statistical agencies level by level. Before 1995, among the shellfish,
oyster was counted as fresh meat; 5 kilograms of ark shell, clams and frogs are
equivalent to 1 kilogram of fresh aquatic products; they have all been counted
as fresh aquatic products since 1996.
Output of Pork, Beef, and Mutton refers to the meat of slaughtered hogs, cattle, sheep and goats with
head, feet, and offal taken away. Data refers to the production of the whole
country. Before 1996, it was a comprehensive reporting from the lower level to
the upper one. The First Agricultural Census of China in 1996 revealed some
discrepancy between the production of animal products from the annual reports
and that from the census. Efforts were made to adjust the output value of
animal husbandry to make the figures from the annual reports consistent with
the census data. Since 1999, the NBS conducted sample surveys for the major
animal husbandry products, such as hogs, cattle, sheep and goats and fowls, and
the data from sample surveys are used as national finalized data. In 2008, A
Monitoring and Survey Program was set up on main livestock, the data on the
main livestock such as hog, cattle, sheep and
poultry became the official data based on the sampling survey.
Number of Livestock or Poultry in Stock at Beginning (or End)
of Period
refers to the total number of large animals, pigs, sheep, fowls, etc.
raised by rural cooperative organizations, State farms, rural individuals,
government agencies, schools, industrial and mining enterprises, army, and
urban residents at the beginning (or end) of the reference period. Data reporting
system and data adjustment are the same as that in the output of pork, beef and
mutton.
Sown Area of Crops refers to area of all land (cultivated or non-cultivated area) sown
or transplanted with crops that are harvested within the calendar year by
agricultural producers. All crops harvested within the year are counted as sown
area, regardless of being sown in this year or the previous year. Crops sown
this year but will be harvested in the coming year are excluded.
Effective Irrigated Area
refers to area of land that are effectively irrigated, i.e. relatively level
land, where there are water sources or complete sets of irrigation facilities
to lift and move adequate water for irrigation purpose under normal conditions.
Under normal situations, irrigated area is the sum of watered fields and
irrigated fields where irrigation systems or equipment have been installed for
regular irrigation purpose. It is an important indicator to reflect the
farmland water conservancy construction in
Consumption of Chemical Fertilizers in Agriculture refers to the quantity of chemical fertilizers applied in
agriculture in the year, including nitrogenous fertilizer, phosphate
fertilizer, potash fertilizer, and compound fertilizer. The consumption of
chemical fertilizers is calculated in terms of volume of effective components
by means of converting the gross weight of the respective fertilizers into
weight containing effective component (e.g. nitrogen content in nitrogenous
fertilizer, phosphorous pentoxide contents in
phosphate fertilizer, and potassium oxide contents in potash fertilizer).
Compound fertilizer is converted in regard to its major components. The formula
is:
Volume of effective
component= physical quantity× effective component of certain chemical
fertilizer (%)
Total Power of Agricultural Machinery refers to the total rated capacity of all agricultural machinery.
Agricultural machinery refers to the machineries and equipments which are used
for activities of planting, animal husbandry, fishery,
primary processing of agricultural products, agricultural transport and
infrastructure construction of farmland. Total power of agricultural machinery
is grouped into four parts according to the energy used:
Diesel engine power
refers to the total rated capacity of all diesel engines.
Gasoline engine power
refers to the total rated capacity of all gasoline engines.
Motor power refers to
the total rated capacity of all motors (include submersible pump motors).
Other mechanical
powers refer to the total mechanical capacity of the sources of energy besides
diesel, gasoline and motor power, such as hydro power, wind power, coal and
solar energy.
Data are mainly from agricultural
machinery agencies.