Corn became China's largest food product in 2012, overtaking rice as domestic production increased 8 percent to 208 million metric tons, according to the Chinese Academy for Social Sciences. Rice production increased 1.6 percent to 204 million metric tons.
China also imported 5.2 million metric tons of corn in 2012, up 197.1 percent from 2011, while rice imports grew 296.2 percent to 2.37 million metric tons. The report attributed the increase in corn demand to rapid development of husbandry and demand from industrial processing. “China's foodstuffs demand has expanded fast mainly because food has been used for purposes other than basic feeding,” said Guo Wei, director of the rural branch of the National Policy Research Office at the State Council.
While Chinese grain consumption has been reduced to 60 percent of 1990's level, meat consumption has risen 44.7 percent compared to 1990, poultry consumption has risen 209 percent and milk consumption by 296 percent. Corn has also been increasingly processed to starch, albumen powder and ethanol, boosting the demand for corn.
