Young people in rural China are reluctant to farm, with many leaving their hometowns to work in cities. As China increasingly relies on imported grain, the nation faces a looming food crisis. Recently, the Chinese government announced its goal to significantly reduce dependence on overseas purchases of grains, soybeans, and other agricultural products within the next decade to ensure food security. However, analysts argue that as the world’s largest importer of agricultural products, China is unlikely to achieve this goal due to constraints on land, soil, and water resources.
China’s grain imports rely heavily on a few key countries. Data from the first 11 months of last year show that China mainly imports 70% of soybeans from Brazil (70.7% show on screen) and 25% from the United States (24.6% show on screen). The top three sources of China’s wheat imports are Australia, Canada, and the United States—geopolitical rivals of China. The top three sources of China’s corn imports are Brazil, the United States, and Ukraine.
#chinaobserver
All rights reserved.
China’s Urgent Food Crisis: No One Farms, Farmland Gone, Frequent Disasters, High Import Reliance
