Economic Growth Dependent on “Ghost” Resources

Jane Du

Chapter Chapter 4 in Farmland, Farming and Food in the National Economy of China, 1947 – 2020, 2024, pp 93-124 from Palgrave Macmillan

Abstract: Abstract This chapter delves into the evolving challenges to China’s food issues. The first of these challenges concerns the enduring issue of hunger, which predominantly affects rural populations. The second challenge is China’s dietary transition, which began in the 2000s, shifting from a semi-vegetarian diet towards one richer in animal proteins. This shift has heightened the demand for fodder grains, potentially increasing the need for imports. As China’s labour supply has peaked and the population has begun to decrease, resource scarcity has become a significant constraint on meeting all domestic grain needs. In this context, China’s recently cultivated land totals 127.9 million hectares, just exceeding the 1.8-billion-mu “red line” for basic food needs. This constraint underscores the scarcity of agricultural resources and increases the complexity of achieving food security across all economic sectors in China.

Keywords: Food trade; Consumption-production gap; Grain ration needs; The “red line” of arable land; Grain-sown area; Yield level; Food grain; Fodder grain; Virtual land import; The Engel’s coefficient; Maize; Soybeans; The United States; Brazil (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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DOI: 10.1007/978-3-031-70027-9_4

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