Asian Agriculture - China's Demand for Grain

For some time, I have been following the food production situation in Asia.

Overall, I think there are strains on the Asian agricultural system that are structural and have far reaching implications. Food price inflation is an important issue for the region with prices increasing at a double digit rate in India, China, and other countries. In turn, this is placing upward pressure on international grain prices. A shortage of rice in 2008 caused a great deal of angst among government officials. In addition, the issue of land availability has prompted significant acquisitions in areas outside of the region, principally Africa.

Combined, these developments paint a picture of business opportunities for American farmers.

This article continues to document Chinese government concerns about food security:

Yap, Chuin-Wei, 2010. Hot potato in china's rising food costs. The Wall Street Journal, Oct. 27.

I especially like this quote from the article:

"Over the next decade, China's annual grain demand is likely to reach 573 million tons, which is above its current production levels. With marginal increases in crop yield shrinking and arable land harder to find, the bet is on that Beijing may swiftly become more reliant than ever on global markets for an essential class of commodities it is desperate to keep mostly home-grown."

Through work at MIT, we hope to apply advanced methods to improve the productivity of agriculture.