China's coarse grain and soybean imports to grow by more than 40% over the next decade

By 2024, China's net imports of coarse grains and soybeans may increase by 46% and 40% respectively compared with current levels.

The report said that for at least the past decade, China has been a net importer of cotton, soybeans, rapeseed, barley, soybean oil and palm oil. Since 2008/09, China has also become a net importer of pork, beef, corn, wheat, rapeseed meal and rapeseed oil, and since 2011/12 it has become a net importer of rice.

The report said that over the next decade China will remain the world's number one soybean importer, and by 2024 China's soybean import demand will account for 71% of total global imports, up from 65% at present. China's cotton imports will also more than double from the current low level, though they will still be below the record high of 2011/12. By 2024, net imports of beef and pork by China and Hong Kong, China will increase by 71% and 41% respectively. China is a net exporter of poultry meat, and by 2024 poultry meat exports may increase by 12%.

Recently China's import trade has already had a significant impact on some grains with relatively low trading volumes, including barley and sorghum. Over the past three years, China has leapfrogged to become a major global importer of sorghum, with imports reaching 4.2 million tonnes in 2013/14, because sorghum is a low-cost substitute for corn, and over the next decade China will remain a major sorghum importer. In 2012/13 China's barley imports were 2.2 million tonnes, and by 2013/14 imports doubled to 4.9 million tonnes, and by 2024 barley imports may still be substantial. Barley demand comes from the feed industry as well as the beer processing industry.