China Pigs Addicted to Foreign Feed as Crop Imports Surge: Chart
Alan Bjerga
January 6, 2016 — 12:26 PM MST
China, the world’s largest pork-consuming country, has largely abandoned a goal of self-sufficiency when it comes to feeding the pigs, cattle and poultry needed to satisfy growing domestic demand for meat.
Last year, China’s negative trade balance in feed-related commodities for livestock rose to a record 88.4 million metric tons, according to United Nations data. Imports and exports were mostly balanced until a decade ago, when economic growth and demand for protein surged. China alone will account for 64 percent of the world’s soybean imports in the year that began in September, U.S. Department of Agriculture data show.
“China can do anything it sets its mind to, but it can’t do everything,†said Gary Blumenthal, chief executive officer of World Perspectives Inc., a global agriculture consultant in Washington. “It doesn’t have the arable land to produce everything it needs, so feed is an area where they’ve accepted dependence on imports.â€
China is also short of water... also a bigger problem.
Alan Bjerga
January 6, 2016 — 12:26 PM MST
China, the world’s largest pork-consuming country, has largely abandoned a goal of self-sufficiency when it comes to feeding the pigs, cattle and poultry needed to satisfy growing domestic demand for meat.
Last year, China’s negative trade balance in feed-related commodities for livestock rose to a record 88.4 million metric tons, according to United Nations data. Imports and exports were mostly balanced until a decade ago, when economic growth and demand for protein surged. China alone will account for 64 percent of the world’s soybean imports in the year that began in September, U.S. Department of Agriculture data show.
“China can do anything it sets its mind to, but it can’t do everything,†said Gary Blumenthal, chief executive officer of World Perspectives Inc., a global agriculture consultant in Washington. “It doesn’t have the arable land to produce everything it needs, so feed is an area where they’ve accepted dependence on imports.â€
China is also short of water... also a bigger problem.
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