The Chinese Food Industry: Development, Constraints and Policies

Given the phenomenon of growing urbanization, the pressure on food demand for a rising population as well as changing diets, China has had to resor t to impor ts, becoming a net impor ter of food. In absence of external flows, this scenar io is set to continue and could then mater ial ize in a future Mal thusian scenario. Improved ef ficiency and productivity, reform of land use r ights, but also the pol icy of "going out" or land grabbing are some of the plausible strategies that the country could improve to avoid an inexorable stabil ization or , at worst, a decline in domestic production, as wel l taking into account the impact of climate change on agricultural commodi ties. Starting from these premises, the paper aims to analyze the existing scenario identifying constrains and policies that could prevent the development of the Chinese food industry.