Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

China Increasingly Relies on Imported Food. That's a Problem.
Council on Foreign Relations ^ | January 25, 2023 | Zongyuan Zoe Liu

Posted on 04/11/2024 11:18:55 AM PDT by Vendome

China has increased its reliance on food imports over the past two decades, prompting concerns among officials who worry that disruptions to food supply chains could trigger domestic unrest. In particular, this reliance has heightened China’s sensitivity to food supply disruptions caused by geopolitical tensions, such as Russia’s war in Ukraine.

 

What is China’s current food security situation?

 

With less than 10 percent of the planet’s arable land, China produces one-fourth of the world’s grain and feeds one-fifth of the world’s population. Data from the country’s National Bureau of Statistics showed that in 2022, China’s grain output reached a record high of 686.53 million tons [page in Chinese] despite delayed plantings, extreme weather, and COVID-19 disruptions. China ranks first globally in producing cereals (such as corn, wheat, and rice), fruit, vegetables, meat, poultry, eggs, and fishery products.

 

Despite its domestic production, China has been a net importer [DOC] of agricultural products since 2004. Today, it imports more of these products—including soybeans, corn, wheat, rice, and dairy products—than any other country. Between 2000 and 2020, the country’s food self-sufficiency ratio decreased from 93.6 percent to 65.8 percent. Changing diet patterns have also driven up China’s imports of edible oils, sugar, meat, and processed foods. In 2021, the country’s edible oil import-dependency ratio reached nearly 70 percent [article in Chinese], almost as high as its crude oil import dependence.

 

(Excerpt) Read more at cfr.org ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Culture/Society; Government; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: cfr; china; chinafood; dominate; food; with; zongyuanzoeliu
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021-23 next last

1 posted on 04/11/2024 11:18:55 AM PDT by Vendome
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies]

To: Vendome

Fortunately, they have a population crash coming in a decade or so.


2 posted on 04/11/2024 11:20:33 AM PDT by ComputerGuy (Heavily-medicated for your protection)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: ComputerGuy

Yep

Their workforce participation drops almost immediately beginning in 2030

Essentially their working age population will age out and be replaced by countries south of our border...


3 posted on 04/11/2024 11:25:04 AM PDT by Vendome (I've Gotta Be Me https://youtu.be/wH-pk2vZG2M)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: ComputerGuy

And they have a history of letting their people starve…so it’s not that much of a problem.

That said, when they have their food supply chain so easily cut off…i doubt they are going to engage in much mischief. And note, their oil supply is much more precarious than their food channels. They are a few years from getting those lines upgraded into Russia.


4 posted on 04/11/2024 11:25:12 AM PDT by Vermont Lt (Don’t vote for anyone over 70 years old. Get rid of the geriatric politicians.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: Vendome

Also keep in mind that the Climate Cult wants to reduce the amount of farm land.


5 posted on 04/11/2024 11:26:28 AM PDT by AppyPappy (Biden told Al Roker "America is back". Unfortunately, he meant back to the 1970's)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Vendome

What IS A REAL PROBLEM — China (and India) produce 80-85% of OUR PHARMACEUTICALS !

AND... no wonder China’s buying up so much farmland in America.


6 posted on 04/11/2024 11:26:30 AM PDT by Carriage Hill (A society grows great when old men plant trees, in whose shade they know they will never sit.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: ComputerGuy

Even more so than in the West - China’s one-child princelings and Gen-Z internet generation do not want to follow in the footsteps of their peasant parents on the farm.

China will quickly do what it can to automate farm production, but they will have a farm-worker crisis even faster than a general population crisis.


7 posted on 04/11/2024 11:28:21 AM PDT by PGR88
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: Vendome

It’s been since the “Great Leap Forward” that China has had a famine. That’s probably the longest stretch China’s ever gone between famines.


8 posted on 04/11/2024 11:30:45 AM PDT by VanShuyten ("...that all the donkeys were dead. I know nothing as to the fate of the less valuable animals)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: AppyPappy

Also keep in mind that the Climate Cult wants to reduce the amount of farm land.

~~~

These things are all very much related.


9 posted on 04/11/2024 11:34:30 AM PDT by z3n (Kakistocracy)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 5 | View Replies]

To: Vendome

What, they’re too good to eat bugs?


10 posted on 04/11/2024 11:36:59 AM PDT by moonhawk (Jeffrey Epstein did't kill himself; George Floyd did.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Carriage Hill
True. We could cancel their ownership of our farmland just like China cancels American ownership of Chinese assets.

Trump was 100% right when he said that China needs us more than we need them.

11 posted on 04/11/2024 11:51:21 AM PDT by Tell It Right (1st Thessalonians 5:21 -- Put everything to the test, hold fast to that which is true.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 6 | View Replies]

To: Tell It Right

They can buy Siberia. Make them an offer they....


12 posted on 04/11/2024 12:02:44 PM PDT by DIRTYSECRET
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 11 | View Replies]

To: DIRTYSECRET

Suggest you do an image search for Siberia Farmland.

It’s grows a lot of food, unlike the fast expanse around Nome, Alaska.


13 posted on 04/11/2024 12:07:14 PM PDT by Owen (.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 12 | View Replies]

To: Vendome

Make China 1959 again hungry and broke the should have never been allows into the free trade agreement.


14 posted on 04/11/2024 12:36:06 PM PDT by Vaduz
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Vaduz

That’s hilarious


15 posted on 04/11/2024 12:48:31 PM PDT by Vendome (I've Gotta Be Me https://youtu.be/wH-pk2vZG2M)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 14 | View Replies]

To: Vendome

Gee, maybe that’s why they’re buying up swathes of farmland in the US....


16 posted on 04/11/2024 12:53:51 PM PDT by jagusafr ( )
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Vendome

One wonders if the hundreds of thousands of military aged Chi-coms crossing our Southern border might have anything to do with providing China with a new source of food stuffs, food stuffs grown in the USA.


17 posted on 04/11/2024 12:54:58 PM PDT by ByteMercenary (Cho Bi Dung and KamalHo are not my leaders.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Vendome

They can always grow their veggies in the States — they own enough land here and, paying Biden enough money, they can get all they want. They can come to Texas to hunt wild hogs for their pork.


18 posted on 04/11/2024 1:03:03 PM PDT by 353FMG
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Vendome

So, they are reliant upon imported food. They are also 80% reliant upon imported oil, which can be blocked easily at any one of several different choke points along the way from where it is pumped until it gets to China.

Maybe the Chinese should think twice before they start a war in Taiwan.


19 posted on 04/11/2024 1:59:15 PM PDT by Ancesthntr (“The right to buy weapons is the right to be free.” ― A.E. Van Vogt, The Weapons Shops of Isher)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Ancesthntr

From the article:

In 2021, the country’s edible oil import-dependency ratio reached nearly 70 percent [article in Chinese], almost as high as its crude oil import dependence.

Same with Steel
https://www.statista.com/topics/5695/steel-industry-in-china/#topicOverview

Iron ore
The Chinese steel industry is not only dependent on the global market for sales, but also on the supply of raw materials, especially iron ore. Although China domestically mines large quantities of iron ore and possesses the fourth largest reserves of iron ore in the world, its iron ore is of low quality and contains only relatively low quantities of iron. Therefore, China is heavily reliant on the global iron ore supply, being by way the largest importer of iron ore worldwide. Imports are coming mainly from Australia and Brazil, these two countries together making up more than 80 percent of total iron ore imports to China.

FAFO


20 posted on 04/11/2024 2:25:05 PM PDT by Vendome (I've Gotta Be Me https://youtu.be/wH-pk2vZG2M)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 19 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021-23 next last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson