China’s Impact on Global Agriculture in 12 Graphs
Perhaps the biggest agricultural demand story of the 21st century has been China.
Accounting for more than 18% of the global population, China’s large population – of 1.4 billion – has also experienced a dramatic rise of per-capita income. These two demand factors have occurred as domestic production in China has struggled to keep up, creating a significant reliance on imports. Total acreage of crop production in China has been mostly stable since 1990, while consumption of crops has grown dramatically. China currently relies on imports for about 100 million acres worth of crop production or roughly 25% of total crop consumption.
This week’s post steps back and considers the trends in China’s production, consumption, and imports of 12 agricultural commodities.