| In-depth Analyses |
| What was China's food balance in 1996? |
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This is an in-depth
analysis of China's food system, based on the FAO's food balance sheet for 1996 - the most
recent year available at the time of this writing (see Table 1). I have also
analyzed how China's grain supply changed between 1964-1966 and 1994-1996 (see
the analysis in this application). |
Table 1 |
 Cereals |
| Supply |
According
to FAO estimates, China had a total domestic cereal production
of 388 million tons in 1996. This included the production of 110.6 million tons of wheat,
131.4 million tons of rice (in milled equivalent), 127.9 million tons of maize, and 18.2
million tons of other cereals, such as rye, oats, millet, sorghum. In that year, China
also imported significant amounts of wheat and maize. Of course, there were also some
cereal exports and imports. In 1996 China had net-imports of
16.5 million tons of cereals (including 8.4 million tons of wheat and 6.2 million tons of
other cereals). China removed almost 7 million tons of cereals (primarily maize) from stocks.
On balance China had a domestic cereal supply of 411.5 million
tons, including almost 120 million tons of wheat, 131.9 million tons of rice, and 139.3
million tons of maize. |
| Utilization |
Not
all of this domestic supply was used for direct human consumption. For instance, most of
the maize was used as animal feed - almost 109.5 million tons, or 78.6%
of the total domestic maize supply. However, it may not be so well known that China also
used 4 million tons of wheat and 7.5 million tons of rice as animal feed, which was
equivalent to 3.3% of the domestic wheat and 5.7% of the domestic rice supply. This
(increasing) utilization of wheat and rice in livestock production is a growing concern
among China's leaders. The grain resource could be used more efficiently if all the rice
and wheat were available for direct human consumption, but the growing demand for
meat makes it profitable to use some (low quality) rice and wheat for livestock
production. There are also significant losses in China's grain supply system. The FAO
estimates that China wasted 23.1 million tons of its domestic cereal
supply, including 6.3 million tons of rice, 5.1 million tons of wheat, and 10.8 million
tons of maize. The total cereal supply available for food was only 237.4
million tons (or 57.7% of the total domestic supply). In other words, more than 40% of all
the grain that was available in China in 1996 was not directly used for food; some 129.6
million tons were used as animal feed, and some 44.5 million tons were used for seed,
processing, and other uses, or were wasted. |
Per
capita
supply |
The
237.4 million tons of cereals available for direct human consumption in
1996 were equivalent to 192.7 kg of cereals per person per year, including 84.3 kg of
wheat and 92.4 kg of rice. On average, these cereals provided each person with 1,671 kcal,
36.8 g of protein and 5.1 g of fat on a daily basis. This was equivalent to 58.8% of the
per capita calorie supply, 48.4% of the per capita protein supply and 7.7% of the per
capita fat supply. The data show that cereals, primarily wheat and rice, are still the
principal source of China's food calorie and protein supply. |
| Starchy Roots |
| Supply |
In
1996 China had a total root production of 182.1 million tons, including 125 million tons
of sweet potatoes, the remainder comprised other potatoes, cassava, and other roots. There
were also 1.9 million tons of net-imports. The total domestic supply of
starchy roots was almost 184 million tons. |
| Utilization |
Starchy
roots, such as potatoes, were an important commodity in China's food supply in the 1950s
and 1960s. This is no longer the case. In 1996, 81.8 million tons, or 44.5% of the total
domestic supply, were used as animal feed. Only 78.1 million tons
were used for direct human consumption. |
Per
capita
supply |
On
average, each person in China had an annual supply of 63.4 kg of starchy roots, equivalent
to 161 kcal of food energy, 2 g of protein, and 0.4 g of fat per day. Only 5.7% of the
total food calorie supply (which was on average 2,844 in 1996) came from starchy roots. |
| Vegetable Oils |
| Supply |
In
1996 China produced almost 7 million tons of vegetable oils, including 2.1 million tons of
rape and mustard seed oil, 1.4 million tons of soybean oil, and 1.3 million tons of
groundnut oil. In addition, the country also had net imports of 1.1 million tons of
soybean oil and 985,000 tons of palm oil so that the domestic supply of vegetable oils was
almost 9.4 million tons (compared with 2.2 million tons in 1974-1976). |
| Utilization |
About
two-thirds of the oil - 6.3 million tons - was used for food. |
Per
capita
supply |
Vegetable
oils contributed 123 kcal (or 4.3%) to the average daily calorie supply per person. They
also supplied 13.9 g of fat per person per day - equivalent to 21.1% of the total per
capita fat supply. |
| Vegetables |
| Supply |
Vegetables
are an (increasingly) important commodity in China. In 1996, farmers produced 199.6
million tons of vegetables (compared with just 41.6 million tons in 1974-1976). Some 2.8
million tons were exported, so that the total domestic supply was 197 million tons. |
| Utilization |
Most
of the vegetables (180 million tons) were used for direct human consumption. However,
there were significant losses of 15.4 million tons (or 7.8% of the domestic supply). One
might wrongly conclude that these losses due to waste are exceptionally high; in fact,
they are typical for this commodity. In developed countries, on average, wastes of
vegetables are even higher. |
Per
capita
supply |
Vegetables
contributed 106 kcal (or 3.7%) to the daily per capita diet. Although this is a small
contribution in terms of food energy, vegetables also supply essential vitamins and
minerals. |
| Fruits |
| Supply |
There
is also a rapid increase in the production of fruits. In 1996 China produced 76.4 million
tons, up from only 13.1 million tons in 1974-1976. Both imports and exports of fruits were
in the order of 1.2 million tons. The total domestic supply remained almost unchanged at
76.5 million tons. |
| Utilization |
Except
for some waste (6.4 million tons) and a little processing (2 million tons), most fruits
(66.6 million tons) were available for direct human consumption. |
Per
capita
supply |
The
annual per capita supply of 54.1 kg of fruits was equivalent to 47 kcal per day. |
| Alcoholic Beverages |
| Supply |
It
is probably an indicator of growing wealth that China is now producing substantially
higher amounts of alcoholic beverages than in past decades. For instance, in 1974-1976,
China produced some 2.5 million tons of alcoholic beverages (mostly beer); in 1996 it
produced more than 10 times as much, or 28.7 million tons (including 412,000 tons of
wine). In 1996 China was also a net importer of alcoholic beverages (53,000 tons). |
| Utilization |
As
can be expected, almost all the alcoholic beverage supply was used for direct human
consumption, so that the country had an overall supply of 28.7 million tons. |
Per
capita
supply |
For
each person in China (babies and grandmothers included) there was, on average, an annual
supply of 23.3 kg of alcoholic beverages. These drinks contributed 86 kcal (or 3%) to the
daily food energy supply. |
| Meat |
| Supply |
There
is great confusion concerning the amount of meat that is really produced (and consumed) in
China. Chinese statistics from different sources (such as from household surveys and from
production statistics) are contradictory. The following estimate from the FAO is probably
the most realistic. The FAO estimated that China produced some 51.5 million tons of meat
in 1996. This included some 33.9 million tons of pork, 10.6 million tons of poultry, and
7.1 million tons of other meat (such as beef, veal, mutton, and goat, and other meat). The
FAO also believes that China was a net importer of meat: they estimated net imports of
712,000 tons of meat, primarily pork and poultry. |
| Utilization |
Basically
all the meat produced and imported was available for direct human consumption. (I am
somewhat skeptical that this is correct. If one takes into account the lack of cooled
trains and trucks in China I am surprised that FAO did not have any estimates on the waste
of meat). |
Per
capita
supply |
If
these FAO estimates are correct, then in 1996 every person in China, on average, was
supplied with 41.2 kg of meat. This was equivalent to 335 kcal, 13.1 g of protein and 30.9
g of fat per person per day. Meat thus contributed almost 12% of the calories, more than
17% of the protein, and 47% of the per capita fat supply. |
| Fish and Seafood |
| Supply |
In
1996, 25.5 million tons of fish and seafood were produced in China. Some 10.6 million tons
were freshwater fish. Fish imports were higher then exports by some 4.5 million tons. The
total domestic supply was about 30 million tons. |
| Utilization |
Some
6.8 million tons of these fish (mainly pelagic fish) were used as animal feed, the rest
(23.4 million tons) was available for human consumption. |
Per
capita
supply |
The
annual per capita fish supply in China was 19 kg, which is equivalent to 30 kcal, 4.9 g of
protein, and 0.9 g of fat per day. In 1974-1976 the annual per capita fish supply was only
5.1 kg. |
| Other Commodities (Pulses, Milk, Eggs) |
| Supply |
We
cannot discuss all commodities in the 1996 FAO food balance sheet for China. However,
another three commodities - pulses, milk, and eggs - should be mentioned.
In 1996, China produced only 4.9 million tons of pulses, compared with 6.3 million tons in
1974-1976. The production of milk (excluding butter), however, increased from 2.4 million
tons in 1974-1976 to 10.2 million tons. In 1996, China also produced 19.9 million tons of
eggs, compared with 2.3 million tons in 1974-1976. |
| Utilization |
Almost
half of the production of pulses in 1996 was used for animal feed (2.1 million tons). Most
of the milk and eggs produced were available for direct human consumption (except 987 tons
of milk that were used as animal feed and 1 million tons of eggs lost due to waste). |
Per
capita
supply |
Eggs
and milk together contributed some 75 kcal (or 2.6%) to the daily per capita supply;
pulses contributed only 16 kcal. |
| Finally, it should be mentioned that only 17% of the daily calories and just
33% of the protein in 1996 came from animal products. |
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Revision 2.0 (First revision published in 1999)
- Copyright © 2011 by Gerhard K. Heilig. All rights reserved. (First revision: Copyright © 1999 by IIASA.) |
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