Xinjiang has vast grassland resources and is one of the five pastoral areas in China. The total grassland area in Xinjiang is 860 million mu, accounting for about 22% of the national grassland area. Grassland accounts for 34.4% of Xinjiang's land area and 86% of green land area, which is 14.43 times of cultivated land area and 28 times of woodland area. Pastoral area construction is an indispensable part of new rural construction in Xinjiang. Pastoral areas are mainly composed of 22 pastoral counties and cities and 15 semi-agricultural and semi-pastoral counties and cities. The number of pastoral counties and cities accounts for 42.5% of the total number of counties and cities in Xinjiang. The total area is 649,500 square kilometers, accounting for 39.1%of Xinjiang; The population of pastoral areas is more than 4,474,400, accounting for 23.85% of the total population in Xinjiang, and nearly 3/5 of the population is a nomadic minority. The available natural grassland area is 475 million mu, accounting for 65.9% of Xinjiang; Cultivated land134.02 million mu, accounting for 25.98% of Xinjiang; Of the 3/kloc-0 counties and cities with a total grain output of 654.38+10,000 tons in Xinjiang, 9 are animal husbandry and semi-animal husbandry counties and cities; At the end of 2006, the number of livestock in pastoral areas was 1, 975438+0,000, accounting for 37% of Xinjiang. The output value of animal husbandry is 6.9 billion yuan, accounting for 36.8% of the output value of animal husbandry in Xinjiang; The meat output is 405,900 tons, accounting for 30.06% of Xinjiang; The milk output is 627,400 tons, accounting for 34.89% of Xinjiang.
The economic and social development of pastoral areas is very important to the development of Xinjiang, no matter from the population proportion or the geographical area under its jurisdiction, as well as the unique geographical position, ecological status and extremely rich natural resources. Accelerating the pace of pastoral construction is not only the realistic need of sustained, rapid and healthy economic development in Xinjiang, but also the need to achieve coordinated urban and rural development and build a harmonious society, and it is also the need to promote national unity and border stability, which has very important political and economic significance. Xinjiang occupies superior geographical and cultural advantages, and its economic and trade exchanges with neighboring countries are increasingly frequent, especially in the agricultural field. The potential of agricultural development in pastoral areas lies in the implementation of "east-west connection, west coming to east", the development of export-oriented agriculture and the opening of agricultural products in Xinjiang to the west.
Second, analysis of the comprehensive advantages of developing export-oriented agriculture in pastoral areas
Pastoral area is an economic area relative to agricultural area. Compared with rural areas, Xinjiang pastoral areas have irreplaceable advantages in vigorously developing export-oriented agriculture, which is very conducive to the further development of international agricultural cooperation and brings new opportunities for cooperation in a wider range of fields.
(1) geographical advantage. Xinjiang's border line is 5600 kilometers long, mostly in pastoral areas, and there are 33 border counties, including animal husbandry counties 17. Pastoral areas and Central Asian countries are surrounded by mountains and rivers, which naturally become important agricultural products supply areas in Central Asian countries. Yili is the hub of the northern line of the ancient Silk Road, an important commercial port in Xinjiang and even the whole country, and an international channel open to the west. The border of Quanzhou is more than 2,000 kilometers long, bordering Kazakhstan, Russia, Mongolia and other countries. There are 8 first-class ports in border countries, among which Horgos Port has become the largest highway port in northwest China. Bozhou borders Kazakhstan, with a border of 385 kilometers. It is the hub of the New North Road of the Silk Road, the intersection of the second Eurasian Continental Bridge, and the domestic west bridgehead. At present, more than 30 agricultural products have been exported. Zhou Ke borders Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan in the north and west, respectively, with a border line of more than 1 170 kilometers, and there are two major ports, Turgat and Jillger Shitan. Horgos Port, which has the shortest transportation route with the five Central Asian countries, is 380 kilometers away from Almaty, and other pastoral ports are between 200 and 500 kilometers away from the corresponding big cities.
(2) humanistic advantages. The relationship between ethnic religion and history constitutes the unique advantage of Xinjiang in developing export-oriented agriculture along the border, along the bridge and in pastoral areas. Ili Prefecture is the crossroads of the ancient Silk Road, and the northern line of the Silk Road runs through the Ili Valley from the northern foot of Tianshan Mountain to the west. From North Road to North, you can also connect to Grassland Road through Altai Mountain. Yili Prefecture has a long history of foreign trade. Huiyuan Ancient City and Tacheng appeasement City are the earliest commercial ports in western China. Yining, Tacheng and Chenghua are all famous international commercial ports. After the founding of New China, the unique geographical advantage of Yili Prefecture has become one of the distribution centers of the country's trade with Eastern Europe, and a large number of local native products have been exported. After the 1990s, border trade developed, tourism shopping and border trade markets were launched one after another, and the import and export volume of border trade increased greatly. Ethnic minorities in pastoral areas have many similarities in nationality, language, religion and culture. Basically, it is a cross-border life, with the same language, connected in-laws and close contacts. They have unique humanistic advantages in developing foreign trade. The customs and consumption preferences of the five Central Asian countries are very similar to those of pastoral areas, and the agricultural industrial structure is highly complementary. There are also hundreds of thousands of overseas Chinese living in neighboring countries in the west, which is conducive to developing economic and trade activities in pastoral areas.
(3) Resource advantages. Pastoral areas are vast, rich in water, soil, light, heat and agricultural germplasm resources, and have great potential for agricultural development and production. Garden agricultural products such as safflower, medlar, hops, tomatoes and melons are well-known at home and abroad. In recent years, with the development of export trade of agricultural products in pastoral areas of Xinjiang, the cultivation of vegetables and fruits has changed the original cultivation mode, and many varieties have been planted in greenhouses, overcoming the constraints of seasons on vegetables and fruits. The increase in the variety and output of vegetables and fruits provides a rich source of agricultural products trade between Xinjiang pastoral areas and neighboring countries. There are still a lot of undeveloped land resources in pastoral areas, which are treasures to be developed; The geographical distribution of agricultural production areas in pastoral areas is relatively independent. In addition, industrial development lags behind, air and water resources are rarely polluted, and the application of chemical fertilizers and pesticides is lower than the national average. It has a good external environment for producing pollution-free and green agricultural products. The prospect of developing green food and organic food is very broad.
(4) Basic advantages of regional cooperation. The regional economic cooperation between pastoral areas and neighboring countries has a certain foundation. After further expansion and improvement, it is possible to establish a relatively stable agricultural cooperative relationship and move towards regional economic integration. First of all, from the hardware point of view, the transportation capacity has been greatly improved, and a transportation network extending in all directions has been formed, which has created conditions for the special agricultural products in pastoral areas to enter the markets of Central Asia, West Asia and China. Pastoral areas are directly bordered by Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Mongolia and other countries, and a number of national first-class ports have been opened, with convenient transportation conditions. Vegetables, fruits and livestock products are transported through Alashankou, Baktu, Horgos, Jimunai and other ports, with low transportation cost and short transportation distance, which can ensure that fruits and vegetables can directly reach the agricultural products market in Central Asia. Secondly, from the software point of view, a series of framework agreements have been signed within Central Asia and between Central Asia and China, laying the foundation for bilateral and multilateral economic cooperation in the region. The Shanghai Cooperation Organization will pay more attention to economic and trade cooperation, speed up the process of trade facilitation, and take Xinjiang as the first choice for project cooperation. The State Council Document No.32 clearly regards "implementing the strategy of opening wider to Central Asia" as the strategic focus of promoting social and economic development in Xinjiang.