Page 146 - 2020 White Paper on the Business Environment in China
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0 White Paper on the Business Environment in China
2.2 Animals and Related Products
Key Take-Aways meat per year. Today, with an additional 380 million
people, it’s nearly 140 pounds. On the whole, the
The Chinese eat nearly three times as much country consumes 28 percent of the world’s meat—
meat as in 1990. Consumption of milk twice as much as the United States. And the figure
and dairy quadrupled from 1995 to 2010 among is only set to increase. More meat on tables means
urban residents and nearly sextupled among rural more land given over to growing livestock feed—
ones. And China now buys far more processed foods, especially soybean, a crucial ingredient used to
increasing about two-thirds from 2008 to 2016. fatten up hogs and cattle quickly (Marcello).
China’s pork prices continued to rise due to the Agricultural land, however, is in short supply in
outbreak African swine fever and the tightness of China. A daunting conundrum China is grappling is:
pork supply is predicted to be intensified into 2020. how to feed nearly one-fifth of the world’s population
The outbreak also has created more interest in beef with less than one-tenth of its farmland, while
and poultry. Beef imports by China, the world’s top adapting to changing tastes. Thirty years ago, about
meat consumer, jumped to an all-time high in 2019 a quarter of the country’s people lived in cities, but by
as the spread of African swine fever throughout the 2016, 57 percent of the population was urban, living
country boosts demand for alternative sources of in a China that is wealthier and more technologically
animal protein. advanced, with a diet that increasingly resembles
that of the West. The Chinese eat nearly three times
China has faced a chicken shortage since 2016 as much meat as in 1990. Consumption of milk
and the scarcity could get worse in 2020. China relies and dairy quadrupled from 1995 to 2010 among
on imported breeding stock for production of white- urban residents and nearly sextupled among rural
feathered broiler chickens which are bred and raised ones. And China now buys far more processed
specifically for meat production, accounting for half of foods, increasing about two-thirds from 2008 to
the country’s chicken supply. 2016. Because China’s agricultural resources are
so modest, supplying this new diet means heading
The quality of domestic baby formula is expected abroad, leading the government to encourage—and
to keep improving to meet the demand from domestic help—Chinese companies to acquire farmland and
consumers, according to a plan released in 2019 by food companies in places like the United States,
seven central government departments including Ukraine, Tanzania, and Chile.
the National Development and Reform Commission
(NDRC). Authorities will adopt strict standards to But China has long prized self-sufficiency in staple
supervise the sector, and will urge producers to adopt grains, as an ideology and a response to political
even higher standards than the minimums. isolation, and this has implications for fields at home
too. In 2013 President Xi Jinping, discussing food
Background policy with rural officials, told them, “Our rice bowl
should be mainly loaded with Chinese food.” This
Fueled by rising incomes rather than urbanization, raises a tricky question: If the Chinese are going to
meat consumption in China grew sevenfold over the feed themselves and eat more like Americans, what
last three decades and a half. In the early 1980s, does that mean for the way they farm? The mismatch
when the population was still under one billion, the between agricultural supply and demand in China can
average Chinese person ate around 30 pounds of seem insurmountable. There are 334 million acres of
arable land, of which roughly 37 million are polluted
146
2.2 Animals and Related Products
Key Take-Aways meat per year. Today, with an additional 380 million
people, it’s nearly 140 pounds. On the whole, the
The Chinese eat nearly three times as much country consumes 28 percent of the world’s meat—
meat as in 1990. Consumption of milk twice as much as the United States. And the figure
and dairy quadrupled from 1995 to 2010 among is only set to increase. More meat on tables means
urban residents and nearly sextupled among rural more land given over to growing livestock feed—
ones. And China now buys far more processed foods, especially soybean, a crucial ingredient used to
increasing about two-thirds from 2008 to 2016. fatten up hogs and cattle quickly (Marcello).
China’s pork prices continued to rise due to the Agricultural land, however, is in short supply in
outbreak African swine fever and the tightness of China. A daunting conundrum China is grappling is:
pork supply is predicted to be intensified into 2020. how to feed nearly one-fifth of the world’s population
The outbreak also has created more interest in beef with less than one-tenth of its farmland, while
and poultry. Beef imports by China, the world’s top adapting to changing tastes. Thirty years ago, about
meat consumer, jumped to an all-time high in 2019 a quarter of the country’s people lived in cities, but by
as the spread of African swine fever throughout the 2016, 57 percent of the population was urban, living
country boosts demand for alternative sources of in a China that is wealthier and more technologically
animal protein. advanced, with a diet that increasingly resembles
that of the West. The Chinese eat nearly three times
China has faced a chicken shortage since 2016 as much meat as in 1990. Consumption of milk
and the scarcity could get worse in 2020. China relies and dairy quadrupled from 1995 to 2010 among
on imported breeding stock for production of white- urban residents and nearly sextupled among rural
feathered broiler chickens which are bred and raised ones. And China now buys far more processed
specifically for meat production, accounting for half of foods, increasing about two-thirds from 2008 to
the country’s chicken supply. 2016. Because China’s agricultural resources are
so modest, supplying this new diet means heading
The quality of domestic baby formula is expected abroad, leading the government to encourage—and
to keep improving to meet the demand from domestic help—Chinese companies to acquire farmland and
consumers, according to a plan released in 2019 by food companies in places like the United States,
seven central government departments including Ukraine, Tanzania, and Chile.
the National Development and Reform Commission
(NDRC). Authorities will adopt strict standards to But China has long prized self-sufficiency in staple
supervise the sector, and will urge producers to adopt grains, as an ideology and a response to political
even higher standards than the minimums. isolation, and this has implications for fields at home
too. In 2013 President Xi Jinping, discussing food
Background policy with rural officials, told them, “Our rice bowl
should be mainly loaded with Chinese food.” This
Fueled by rising incomes rather than urbanization, raises a tricky question: If the Chinese are going to
meat consumption in China grew sevenfold over the feed themselves and eat more like Americans, what
last three decades and a half. In the early 1980s, does that mean for the way they farm? The mismatch
when the population was still under one billion, the between agricultural supply and demand in China can
average Chinese person ate around 30 pounds of seem insurmountable. There are 334 million acres of
arable land, of which roughly 37 million are polluted
146
