Health

Where does our food come from? Reveal Latest Report


Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has plunged the world into a food crisis, with prices of staple foods rising by as much as 25% globally. At the same time, suppliers and supermarkets raised the prices of food, regardless of whether those foods were affected by the Russian war or not. Add this to the economic crisis the pandemic has created, and the public becomes confused and uncertain about the future. In the meantime, UOTP decided to shed light on the public with a thorough report on agricultural production and exports. The research aims to empower the public with data that tells where our food comes from. Since we live in a globalized world today, we have added export values ​​and quantities to show how the world depends on the agricultural output of a particular country.

(Read more: Reducing consumer food waste could save $300 billion a year by 2030)

food security 620

One of the main concerns of food security is about where our food comes from.

The report shows that the US is one of the largest producers and exporters of many essential foods. This suggests that, despite the rise in global prices of staple foods such as wheat, corn, potatoes and sunflower seeds, there are no major concerns about food security in the US (although prices may increase due to global price inflation).

At the same time, since a large-scale region (Russia and Ukraine together) cannot grow or export any food, the world will turn its attention to other exporting countries to fill the gap. Since the United States is the world’s largest food exporter, farmers who grow crops for export may experience increased prices. However, when transportation costs similarly increase, the price increase may or may not translate into more profit.

Top agricultural products by country: Mapped

While agriculture developed around the world, different regions developed different crops. However, globalization has seen a shift in the cultivation and export of food around the world. According to a 2016 study, more than two-thirds of the agricultural products in the national diet worldwide originate from a remote area. With the rise of technology in agriculture over the past 50 years, this trend has accelerated rapidly.

For example, tomatoes are native to the Andes (Latin America), however, they are a staple food in many cuisines around the world. Today, the largest tomato producing countries are countries such as China, India and Turkey. At the same time, the Netherlands (a remote country, far from the Andes) is the largest exporter of tomatoes.

Another example is wheat, originally grown in the Mediterranean and Central and Western Asia. Today, wheat is produced in more than 100 countries globally and ranks as the largest agricultural commodity in more than 14 countries.

(Read more: Wheat, one of the world’s most important crops, is threatened by climate change)

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Wheat is one of the largest agricultural commodities.

As we see, the source of the food plays a small role in the food that we have on the table. Today, countries all over the world have domesticated crops from remote regions, directly contributing to food security for communities around the world. However, with international crops, do we know which agricultural products are produced the most? Let’s move on to the next section to find out.

Doubling crop yields is a risky move. However, since war can affect the food security of more than 1.7 billion people globally, it is a risk worth taking, especially from the US, one of the world’s leading producers and exporters of food. largest food exporter in the world.

7 most commonly produced agricultural commodities worldwide

Over the past two decades, worldwide crop production has increased by more than 53%, reaching a record high of 9.8 billion tons in 2020. While many agricultural commodities are produced worldwide, 2019 , only four crops account for half of world agricultural production.

Sugarcane topped the list, accounting for 21% of total production. This is followed by corn with 12% and rice and wheat with 8% each.

Here are the seven most commonly grown crops in the world:

  1. Dairy cows
  2. Sugar cane
  3. Corn
  4. Wheat
  5. Rice fields
  6. Potatoes

7 largest agricultural commodity producing countries

By 2020, half of global agricultural output will come from Asia, while Europe harvests one-tenth of the world’s agricultural output.

North America produces 826.9 million tons of agricultural products, accounting for about 8.5% of total world production. Below, we list the seven largest global agricultural producers.

  1. China
  2. USA
  3. Russia
  4. Brazil
  5. India
  6. Spain
  7. Ukraine

What are the most exported agricultural commodities worldwide?

Thanks to globalization, countries today can exchange goods and close the gap in their agricultural production.

Like other industries, global trade in agriculture is growing rapidly, with its share of the agricultural sector’s total GDP increasing by 40% compared with 30 years ago.

At the same time, we are seeing a shift in export patterns, transforming developing countries into major global agricultural exporters. These economies have also increased their productive capacity, which means they are less dependent on food imports.

The 5 most exported agricultural products

Today, the most exported agricultural products globally are wheat, rice, soybeans, corn, barley, rapeseed, palm oil, sunflower seeds, and bananas.

In 2020, the total amount of wheat exported will reach over 198.5 million tons, equal to a quarter of global wheat production. The largest grain exporter is Russia, followed by the United States and Canada.

Soybean is another major agricultural export in the world. In 2020, total soybean exports reached 173.3 million tons with a market value of 64.1 billion USD. The largest soybean exporters are Brazil and the United States.

(Read more: 8 ways we can change policies and make farming smarter)

Soy bean

After wheat, even soybeans are exported in huge quantities.

The export market value of corn for 2020 is $36.7 billion. The top three exporters are the US, Argentina and Brazil.

Rapeseed (canola) also topped the list of agricultural exports. In 2020, more than 25.1 million tons of rapeseed were exported worldwide, the majority of which came from Canada.

Countries leading in global commodity exports

As some countries become global players in food exports, other countries become highly dependent on trade with those countries.

The leading countries in global commodity exports are:

  1. USA
  2. Netherlands
  3. Brazil
  4. China
  5. Germany

What’s next?

The war is affecting the prices of fertilizers, which are very important in agricultural production. Ukraine, Russia and Belarus (a close Russian ally) are among the world’s largest producers of crop fertilizers. Furthermore, the war halted fertilizer production in Ukraine, while the embargo on Russia and Belarus exacerbated the supply crisis and sent prices skyrocketing.

This could create a domino effect in food production around the world as it would increase production costs for farmers. Therefore, the Biden administration’s decision to invest $500 million in food fertilizer production is seen as a move that will help reduce the cost of food production not only in the US but globally. This way, countries like Brazil that are heavily dependent on fertilizers coming from Ukraine can continue to grow their crops without significantly increasing production costs.

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are the personal opinions of the author. NDTV is not responsible for the accuracy, completeness, suitability or validity of any information contained in this article. All information is provided on an as-is basis. The information, facts or opinions appearing in the article do not reflect the views of NDTV and NDTV does not bear any similar liability.



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