Japan's grain self-sufficiency rate for 5 consecutive years less than 40% still rely on imports

China News Service, August 7 According to Japanese media reports, the 2014 food self-sufficiency rate (based on calories) announced by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Japan on the 7th of this month was 39%, maintaining the same level for 5 consecutive years. The production of wheat and soybeans increased, but the demand for rice, which is almost entirely domestic, decreased, and the self-sufficiency rate of food remained unchanged.

It is reported that the Japanese government lowered the food self-sufficiency rate target from 50% to 45% in March this year, but the actual figure is far from the new target. The so-called "grain self-sufficiency rate" refers to the proportion of grain Chinese products consumed domestically.

According to reports, Japan's per capita rice consumption in 2014 was 55.2kg, 1.7kg less than the previous year, a record low. As a result, the food self-sufficiency rate was lowered by 0.2 percentage points. Among the oil products such as edible oil that rely on imports, the expansion of demand in the catering industry has led to an increase in consumption, and the self-sufficiency rate has also been suppressed by 0.2 percentage points.

Among them, the planting area of wheat and soybean has been expanded, and the harvest has benefited from the increase in good weather, which has a positive impact on the self-sufficiency rate of grain.

Japan's grain self-sufficiency rate, based on production, decreased by 1 percentage point to 64%, a new low. The main reasons were the fall in rice prices, the rise in international trading prices of aquatic products and the rise in imports due to the depreciation of the yen.

In addition, Japan's Ministry of Agriculture and Water also released data on "food self-sufficiency" that reflects the maximum food production capacity on the premise of existing agricultural land and farming population. If potato crops are mainly planted in emergency situations, it can ensure that the average person receives food equivalent to 2736 kilocalories per day. Due to the reduction of agricultural land area and other reasons, this figure has decreased by 12 kcal compared with the previous year, but it still exceeds the 2146 kcal as the lower limit standard.

It is understood that Japan's lowest food self-sufficiency rate occurred in 1993 when the rice harvest failed, only 37%. The food self-sufficiency rate rose to 46 per cent in 1994 and has been floating around 40 per cent for the next 20 years.

2015-08-07 | Source: China News Network