CHINA-AGRICULTURE: CHINA STOCKS UP ON GRAIN AT "HISTORICALLY HIGH LEVEL"

Qin Yuyun, head of grain reserves at the National Food and Strategic Reserves Administration, told reporters in November that China is maintaining its food stockpiles at a "historically high level" and "Our wheat stockpiles can meet demand for one and a half years. There is no problem whatsoever about the supply of food." According to data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, China is expected to have 69% of the globe's maize reserves in the first half of crop year 2022, 60% of its rice and 51% of its wheat. China spent $98.1 billion importing food (beverages are not included) in 2020, up 4.6 times from a decade earlier, according to the General Administration of Customs of China. In the January-September period of 2021, China imported more food than it had since at least 2016, which is as far back as comparable data goes. Over the past five years, China's soybean, maize, and wheat imports soared two- to twelvefold on aggressive purchases from the U.S., Brazil, and other supplier nations. Imports of beef, pork, dairy, and fruit jumped two- to fivefold. China's production of wheat and other provisions as well as the amount of land used for  agriculture plateaued in 2015. Goro Takahashi, a Professor Emeritus at Aichi University and expert on Chinese agriculture, said "Agricultural productivity in China is low due to the dispersion of farmland and soil contamination. The amount of agricultural production will continue to stall as farmers migrate to urban areas."





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