the recent FP Blog piece, Is China secretly hoarding the world's fish?, by Elizabeth Ralph highlights another resource that China (and its economy) has become a major player in. One that is perhaps not as sexy as oil, where it is now the largest importer, or wood, which has been controversial lately, China's global ag grab now covers everything from fish (as highlighted above), soy, alfalfa, cows, chicken, hogs, bananas, rice, sugar, and so on.
It a supply chain that kept the shipbuilding industry afloat, and has altered the markets for products in other countries where exports to China have raised the prices in domestic markets beyond local reach.
Like the issues of smog that I have discussed previously, this trend is one that will only continue as China urbanizes another 400 million people.
To be clear, Beijing at this point does not have much choice but to go to these lengths. Domestically, the food economy is only 40-60% efficient depending upon the industry, and while there have been some efforts to bring small farms together that would provide the foundation for a number of investments that would improve yields and efficiency to the plate, the progress has been slow… and will continue to be.
(verzonden vanaf tablet)
