Achieving food security has been a long standing priority for the CCP. With a little over 1.4 billion people, China possesses almost one-fifth of the world’s population but less than one-tenth of the world’s total arable land. Although China’s per capita grain production (1036 lbs) exceeds the international average (882 lbs), it remains the world’s largest food importer.
Food Security Concerns. Strong Chinese demand continued to raise grain prices to record highs into 2021. In 2020, China bought record amounts of non-rice grains and oilseeds including wheat, sorghum and soybeans. Although the government said that the 2020 summer harvest produced “all-time high” outputs, anecdotal reports of grain shortages led farmers to hoard crops and state purchases of grain reserves declined.