China to maintain food self-sufficiency: report

BEIJING -- China will remain self-sufficient in the main food crops, though output will slow in the next decade under increasing resource and rural labor constraints, according to a new forecast by two international agencies.

China will import more oilseed and livestock, for both the meat and dairy sectors, as consumption growth will outpace production during the 2013-2022 period, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development and the Food and Agriculture Organization said in a joint report released here on Thursday.

The country's imports of oilseed are expected to rise by 40 percent in the next decade, accounting for 59 percent of global trade, while dairy imports are projected to rise 20 percent, according to the OECD-FAO Agricultural Outlook 2013-2022.

The report also predicted rising prices for both crop and livestock products in the next decade due to a combination of slower production growth and stronger demand, including for biofuels.

It said limited expansion of agricultural land, rising production costs, growing resource constraints and increasing environmental pressures will pressurize agricultural production, which is expected to grow 1.5 percent annually in the period, down from an annual growth of 2.1 percent between 2003 and 2012.