Production and consumption of
grains (cereals) by the world and
Malaysia
The recent spike in food prices made me curious to know the past and current
rate of grain (cereal) production and consumption by the world. I downloaded the
USDA (U.S. Dept. of Agriculture) data set from their website.
Grains supply nearly half of
our energy needs in a day.
Consequently, their sufficient
production is essential to
avoid a food crisis. (photo
from 4.bp.blogspot.com)
Below shows the world production and consumption of grains (barley, maize,
millet, oats, rice, rye, sorghum, wheat, and mixed grains) from 1960 to 2010.
World
grain
production
and
consumption (1960-2010)
From less than a billion tonnes of grains produced in 1960, the world is currently
producing more than 2.1 billion tonnes. The world, of course, cannot consume
more grains than it can produce, so the annual grain production is higher than
the annual grain consumption, though some years see a slightly higher
consumption of grains than their production. This higher consumption rate can
occur when grains from world stock inventories held from previous years are
consumed.
Worryingly, the mean annual increase of world grain production after 1990 is
lower than the mean annual increase in world grain consumption.
Average annual increase in world
grain production and consumption
(1960-2010)
This means after 1990, the world is consuming grains at a higher or faster rate
than the world can produce the grains. From 1971 to 1990, the mean annual
grain production increases at faster rate than the rate of increase in the grain
consumption. However, the situation is reversed after 1990, where the world
consumed grains at a faster rate of increase than that for grain production. In the
2001-2010 period, for instance, the grain consumption rate of increase is higher
by nearly 12% than the rate of increase in grain production.
What about for Malaysia? For grains, our country produces mostly rice, little
maize, and no wheat. I was curious about our country’s long term trend in grain
consumption. From the same USDA website, I downloaded our country’s dataset,
and I plotted the following charts.
Malaysia's total grain consumption
(1960-2010)
Malaysia's grain consumption per
capita per year (1960-2010)
Malaysia consumes grains at a rather steady increasing rate. From 1.6 million
tonnes in 1960, Malaysia now consumes about 6.8 million tonnes in 2010.
There is some fluctuation in Malaysia’s grain consumption per capita (per
person). Nevertheless, the chart shows that after 1970, there is a general
increase in the grain consumption per capita. In 1971, Malaysians consumed
about 178 kg of grains per person per year which increased to 243 kg in 2010.
Currently, the world consumes 326 kg of grains per person per year, so this
means Malaysians consume about 25% less grains than the rest of the world.
Nevertheless, the rate of increase in the grain consumption for the world is much
lower than that for Malaysia. After 1970, Malaysians consume increasingly more
grains every year by an average of 1.6 kg per person per year as compared to
0.05 kg per person per year for the world.
As mentioned earlier, apart from rice, Malaysia produces very little grains.
Malaysia must depend on other countries to grow sufficient grains to meet our
country’s annual increase in grain consumption of 1.6 kg per person per year. The
world, however, sees a higher rate of increase in grain consumption than that for
grain production. So, in periods of scarcity in the world food market, Malaysia
would face trade competition to purchase sufficient grains to meet the country’s
needs.
Rice edition of Asian Geographic
The latest issue of Asian Geographic (Issue 5, no. 74, 2010) caught my eye
recently. This issue was dedicated solely on rice, and one of the main feature
articles was on the work by IRRI (International Rice Research Institute), located
Los Banos, Philippines. IRRI is of course very well known among agriculturists as
one of the main rice research institutions in the world. IRRI was also actively
involved in spreading the Green Revolution in Asia in the late 1960s, so it is
rather ironic that IRRI is located in the Philippines, a country, once the second
largest exporter of rice, is now the largest importer of rice in the world.
Asian Geographic
(Issue 5, no. 74,
2010)
IRRI is actively involved in the work to create a C4 rice plant which, due to C4’s
more efficient photosynthesis pathway, would produce higher yields and require
less water to do so.
Also discussed briefly is the genetically-engineered Golden Rice. This rice is
yellow because it is rich in beta carotene, a precursor to vitamin A. The rationale
for Golden Rice is to overcome the common vitamin A deficiency among children
in many underdeveloped countries. However, I believe the exotic Golden Rice is
unneeded because so much money and effort are spent on developing the rice
when they could have been spent on promoting “natural” and cheaper food
alternatives rich in vitamin A such as carrot, pumpkin, mango, and jack fruit.
Besides, poor people (or children) who are suffering from vitamin A deficiency are
often suffering from other deficiencies too.
Golden rice (right) and normal rice (left)
(photo from Golden Rice Humanitarian
Board)
Nevertheless, Golden Rice is currently being developed so that it is additionally
fortified with iron and zinc, two common mineral deficiencies in poor countries as
well. It is also promising that Golden Rice would eventually belong to the public
domain and not owned by some big corporations (like Monsanto or Syngenta)
where if it did, Golden Rice would be patented and its seeds costing an arm and a
leg to poor farmers. If successful, this multiple-fortified and cheap Golden Rice
might just be finally acceptable to GM (genetically modified) opponents (at least
to some, anyway).
Other articles in Asian Geographic that piqued my interest were on: 1) rice-fish
culture (particularly in Thailand, China, Viet Nam, and Philippines); 2) the types
of “friendly and unfriendly” birds in rice fields (friendly birds like eagles and
warblers that eat rice pests such as rats, mice, and insects, and unfriendly birds
such as munias and finches that eat ripening rice grains); and 3) rice being
planted, albeit in a limited land area, in Siberia (!) by the Soyot people.
Even the short article on riceballs caught my interest! I had my first riceballs in
Melaka, and I thought cooking the rice and rolling it into ping pong-sized balls
was merely a gimmick! Well, it appears rolling the cooked rice into several balls
has a purpose. Riceballs help to preserve their warmth inside so that workers,
bringing their lunches to work, could still enjoy eating the warm rice. Okay, but
wouldn’t rolling the rice into several balls increase the total surface area of the
rice; thus, increase the cooling rate? Hmm….I wonder.
Riceballs!
(photo
from
virtualmalaysia.com)
In conclusion, this issue of Asian Geographic is very well done, covering a diverse
of topics on rice. However, my two complains are: 1) some articles are rather
brief and lack depth in science (due to Asian Geographic’s target audience with
little background in science?), and 2) some of the countries’ rice statistics are
either wrong, based on old data, or missing (such as the missing data on Brazil’s
rice production and the ranking of some countries as rice producers were mixed
up).
Asian Geographic’s Editor, Lunita Mendoza, said this issue was the one of the
best issues he had put together for Asian Geographic. I cannot comment on that
as this is my first issue of the magazine I have read. Nevertheless, based on what
I have read, this is my conclusion: Well done, Asian Geographic!