The global financial crisis — the Asian agrifood market and future trade

Asia has become the major agrifood consumer on the planet. As a result of rapid urbanisation and industrialisation coupled with increased consumer income, Asia’s demand for agrifood has increased rapidly in recent years. When consumer income further increases in the future, the total demand for agrifood will increase, and the demand for diverse and higher quality foods will also increase. However, due to limited agricultural resources, Asia is not able to produce sufficient agrifood to meet its rising demand. Over the past decades, Asia’s shortage of food supply has been met by imports. The question arises then as to how will the recent global financial crisis (GFC) and the worldwide food price crisis affect Asia’s overall food demand-supply patterns and its future demand for food imports? This paper demonstrates that, despite the GFC, the food price crisis and the subsequent government responses, Asia’s overall demand-supply patterns for agrifood will not change. Asia will remain a major net agrifood importer in the world market, and Asia’s demand for agrifood imports will further increase. Developing mutually beneficial and sustainable agrifood trade with Asia will be advantageous to major agrifood exporters