China’s food output will grow by 1.1% annually over the next decade

The country’s food output will grow 1.1 percent annually over the next decade as global hunger has risen, reducing the world’s largest food importer’s demand for overseas food products, a report said Saturday.

China’s annual food production is expected to reach 704 million tons this year and exceed 766 million tons by 2033, thanks to stable growing areas and increased productivity, compared with 695 million tons last year, according to the China Agricultural Outlook 2024-33.

According to the report of the Market Early Warning Expert Committee of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, each hectare of agricultural land could produce 6.43 tons of food in 2033, compared to the current level of about 5.83 tons.

Meanwhile, China’s food imports would decline to 110 million tonnes in 2033 from 160 million tonnes last year, said the report, released annually since 2014.

China will import only 78.69 million tons of soybeans in 2033, compared to 99.41 million tons last year, the report said.

This year’s report was unveiled at the China Agriculture Outlook Conference, a two-day event that kicked off in Beijing on Saturday. The conference was held by the Agricultural Information Institute of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, a subsidiary of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs.