Using market forces, Hebei province continues to adjust its organization for planting and agricultural management. The proportion of efficient production has expanded each year to ensure a competitive industry.

One of China's major grain producing areas, Heibei's main agricultural products include wheat, maize, millet, sorghum and cash crops such as cotton, peanuts, soy beans and sesame.

The area under cultivation in the province totals about 6.7 million hectares, which produce about 25 million tons of farm products annually. With the development of domestic and foreign markets, a high-quality food processing industry is developing rapidly.

Cotton industry

Hebei is one of China's major cotton-producing provinces. In 2004, planted cotton covered 669,000 hectares, ranking fourth in the country; total output was about 665,000 tons, ranking third. Cotton grown in Hebei is very competitive for its early maturation and processing, which has given rise to a large-scale textile industry. About 40 million tons of cotton is processed into textiles, about 8 percent of the national total.