by Financial Argument via Financial Argument
Some people won’t believe that 2022 is the year when the global food crisis will set in. Food shortages will become a stark reality.
Unfortunately, some people won’t see this until they find their supermarket shelves completely empty.
It’s difficult to watch so many people ignore the all-time high food prices, soaring fuel costs, a damaged supply chain, an alarming rise in infectious animal diseases, wildfires in thousands of places at once, and more.
I’m going to speak on China today. Their food stores today are at their historically highest level, which gives them great power that could lead to problems for the rest of us.
Last year, I mentioned that I found it suspicious that China is hoarding much more food than it needs to sustain its population. The latest data and news show that China will continue adding to its food reserves, and isn’t stopping anytime soon.
You may wonder what justifies a society that makes up 18% of the world’s population to store 50% of the global food supply.
Traditionally and culturally, Asian societies tend to consume less food. The numbers confirm this. 2018 data from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations based on food consumption per capita shows China has an average level of food consumption habits.
Some may say China’s food production is at a level that is insufficient to feed the current population. However, this is not the case at all.
China is the world’s largest agricultural producer by quantity and is responsible for a quarter of the global food production alone. In addition, it is the second country that imports the most agricultural products in terms of monetary value. The agricultural sector, where one-third of the working population is employed across the country, constitutes 10 percent of the gross national product.
According to projections from the United States Department of Agriculture for last year’s harvest season, 22% of corn, 37% of peanuts, 29% of rice, 23% of cotton, and 18% of wheat would come from China.
When we look at the big picture, we see that China does not have any problems with food production and does not need to import so much to sustain itself.
According to data from the US Department of Agriculture, China is expected to hold 69% of the world’s maize reserves in the first half of the 2022 crop year.
As I said, China is the country that produces the most rice and wheat in the world. Data from the US Department of Agriculture also shows China is expected to hold 60% of the world’s rice and 51% of wheat in its reserves. These are alarming numbers, and it’s not just these products that China is hoarding. Imports of pork, dairy, fruit, and beef jumped fivefold.
The data shows that China has hoarded food at unbelievable rates and they imported it from sources spread out all over the globe. This means they could have the ability to control food prices when food is most needed and can implement a food shortage plan if they want to, especially with the current supply chain problems.
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