Today, China is known primarily as a state with a developed industry that produces and exports almost all types of products, including high-tech ones. Nevertheless, agriculture continues to play a significant role in the country's economy, and China is among the world's largest producers and exporters of agricultural products. The agricultural sector accounts for 7.3% of GDP and 22.6% of the employed population. The vast territory of the country is occupied by arable land and pastures, which ensures consistently high production rates. At the same time, China is characterized by significant regional differences in the level of agricultural development, due to a set of climatic and socio-economic factors.
The bulk of the country's large population mainly lives in the coastal eastern provinces, where the largest urban agglomerations are located, export-oriented industrial production is concentrated and international ports operate. In these regions, there is an acute shortage of land, including due to an increase in its value in the process of urbanization, as well as problems with soil fertility caused by their prolonged intensive economic development and pollution during industrialization. Agricultural production has been developing more actively in Northeast and Western China over the past decade, but these regions are far from the main centers of consumption and do not produce enough products to meet demand in the domestic market.
As a result of the existing natural and economic restrictions in China, there is a high demand for imported agricultural products. The country has long remained one of the world's largest net importers of agricultural products, despite the government's efforts to import substitution and improve the efficiency of national agriculture.
The most common crop in China is potatoes, whose production volume, according to FAO data, was estimated at 95.6 million tons in 2022. In addition, 77.3 million tons of cucumbers and gherkins were grown in 2022, as well as 68.2 million tons of tomatoes.
Grain production in China reached 633.3 million tons by 2022, almost unchanged compared to 2021. The average annual growth rate of the volume of grown products in 2018-2022 was 0.9%. About half of the country's grain production is accounted for by corn — in 2022, 277.2 million tons of this crop were grown, which is 1.7% more than in 2021. Rice production in 2022 decreased by 2.0% to 208.5 million, while wheat production reached 137.7 million tons, an increase of 0.6% compared to 2021. According to the Chinese State Bureau of Statistics, in 2023, grain production increased to 641.4 million tons, of which 288.8 million tons were corn, 206.6 million tons were rice and 136.6 million tons were wheat.
In the category of fruits and berries, the most common crop in China is watermelons, in 2022 their production amounted to 63.0 million tons. In addition, citrus production is growing at a steady pace in the country, 60.0 million tons were harvested in 2022, which is 7.1% higher than in 2021. The average annual growth rate of citrus production in China in 2018-2022 was 9.7%. Apple cultivation is also expanding: in 2022, the production of this type of fruit reached 47.6 million tons, an increase of 3.5% compared to 2021 (the average annual growth rate in 2018-2022 was 5.0%).
Sugar cane production in 2022 amounted to 103.4 million tons, which is 3.1% less than in 2021. Over the past few years, there has been a decrease in the volume of cultivation of these products due to the low level of mechanization and a shortage of labor in the main production regions. To restore sugar cane production, the Chinese government provides farmers with subsidies, including for the purchase of necessary equipment.
China is a major producer of livestock products. The production of raw cow's milk in the country in 2022 reached 39.3 million tons, which is 6.8% more than in 2021. The average annual growth rate in 2018-2022 was 6.4%. The acceleration in milk production reflects the growing demand for dairy products among Chinese consumers, especially after the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the Chinese State Bureau of Statistics, in 2023, the production of raw cow's milk in the country increased to a record 42.0 million tons.
China is the largest meat market, providing about a quarter of its global consumption. Pork is the most popular type of meat in the country, while China ranks first both in terms of production of this type of meat and in terms of its consumption. In 2022, pork production reached 55.4 million tons, which is higher than the values that were demonstrated before the regional outbreak of African swine fever (2018-2020). In 2023, pork production increased to 57.9 million tons. Poultry meat occupies the second place in the overall structure of China's meat production, in 2022. about 24.4 million tons of this type of product were produced.
In 2022, China produced about 87.5 million tons of fish and seafood. The country is the largest producer and the second largest exporter of seafood in the world after Norway due to its long coastline, convenient access to the Pacific Ocean rich in aquatic biological resources, as well as a large fishing fleet. The aquaculture sector is also actively developing in the country, whose products currently make up a significant part of the total production volume.
At the same time, China is also the second largest importer of these products after the United States, since the country has developed a developed culture of consuming a wide variety of seafood. Fish of all kinds, shrimp, squid, scallops and mussels are an integral part of the local cuisine and are part of many traditional dishes. Exotic products such as sea cucumbers, sea urchins and shark fins are also popular on the market.
In 2023, imports of agricultural products from China amounted to 223.8 billion US dollars, which is 194.6 million US dollars below the level of 2022. The volume of imports of agricultural products in 2019-2023 increased by an average of 12.4% per year.
By the end of 2023, soybeans dominated the structure of China's imports (27.0% of the value of imports or 60.5 billion US dollars). The top 5 imported agricultural products also included beef and edible offal of cattle (6.4% or 14.4 billion US dollars), crustaceans (4.3% or 9.6 billion US dollars), corn (4.0% or 9.0 billion US dollars) and fresh durian (3.0% or 6.7 billion US dollars). In total, the top 10 commodity items accounted for 56.3% of imports of agricultural products from China in value terms.
In 2023, the largest increase compared to the previous year was observed in imports of fresh durian (+66.2% or +2.7 billion US dollars), corn (+27.0% or +1.9 billion US dollars), as well as other food products (+15.6% or +731.1 million US dollars). A significant decrease was noted in purchases of beef and edible offal of cattle meat (-19.9% or -3.6 billion US dollars) and palm oil (-12.7% or -742.6 million US dollars).
The largest exporters of agricultural products to China in 2023 were Brazil (25.7% of imports of Chinese agricultural products in value terms), the United States (6.3%) and Thailand (5.3%). Collectively, the top 10 countries accounted for 72.3% of China's agricultural imports in value terms.
For 2019-2023 China has significantly increased the volume of purchases from Brazil (by 2 times or +28.9 billion US dollars), the United States (by 2.4 times or +18.3 billion US dollars), Russia (by 2.5 times or +5.2 billion dollars USA) and Vietnam (2.1 times or +3.4 billion US dollars).
China's exports of agricultural products in 2023 amounted to 96.8 billion US dollars, which is 1.1% (or 1.1 billion US dollars) higher than the level of 2022. In 2019-2023, Chinese exports of agricultural goods increased by an average of 5.9% per year.
The main export products of China's agriculture in 2023 were fish products and canned food (4.2% or 4.1 billion US dollars), vegetables cooked or canned without vinegar (4.0% or 3.8 billion US dollars), other food products (3.6% or 3.5 billion US dollars), as well as fillets of fish and other fish meat (3.4% or 3.3 billion US dollars). In total, the top 10 exported products accounted for 31.6% of the value exports of China's agricultural products.
In value terms, exports of Chinese bulbous fresh vegetables increased most noticeably in 2023 (by 27.9% or +670.2 million US dollars) and other food products (by 22.5% or +644.3 million US dollars). At the same time, there was a significant decrease in exports of shellfish (-25.2% or -851.7 million US dollars), fish fillets and other fish meat (-18.5% or -754.9 million US dollars), as well as products and canned shellfish (-16.2% or -547.5 million US dollars).
The largest importing countries of agricultural products from China in 2023 were Hong Kong (11.4% of exports in value terms), Japan (10.3%), the United States (10.3%), the Republic of Korea (6.3%) and Vietnam (5.5%). In total, the top 10 importing countries accounted for 62.5% of China's agricultural exports in 2023.
The largest increase in the volume of purchases of Chinese agricultural products for the period 2019-2023 was noted in the United States (+57.4% or +3.6 billion US dollars), Malaysia (+69.4% or +2.1 billion US dollars), the United Kingdom (2.3 times or +1.6 billion US dollars) and the Netherlands (+66.1% or +1.1 billion US dollars).
