[00:00.00]From VOA Learning English, [00:02.16]this is the Economics Report. [00:05.10]A new report says China's demand for food imports [00:10.65]will jump in the next few years. [00:14.13]The report comes from the U.N. Food [00:17.77]and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the Organization [00:21.80]for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) . [00:25.75]Angel Gurria is Secretary-General of the OECD. [00:31.02]He says China's need for food is growing [00:35.44]at a time when world food production is decreasing. [00:40.53]"In the last 10 years agriculture grew by 2.1 percent. [00:44.36]Now we're saying the next 10 years its going to grow 1.5 percent. [00:48.61]So about a third less. [00:50.00]That's pretty big. [00:51.89]A third less accumulated over time, [00:54.88]that's a big difference." [00:56.67]Meat imports to China are expected to grow [01:01.20]at yearly rate of three percent [01:04.39]to 1.7 million tons by the year 2022. [01:10.42]Beef is set to become the fastest growing food import [01:15.84]with a expected growth rate of seven percent a year. [01:20.42]China's imports of coarse grains -- crops used to feed animals, [01:25.59]are expected to double by 2022, [01:30.29]soybean imports are expected to grow 40 percent. [01:35.49]And imports of oilseeds, also used in animal feed, [01:40.61]are predicted to rise 41 percent over the next ten years. [01:46.79]Angel Gurria says China's economic growth [01:51.52]is fueling its hunger for imports, [01:54.51]he says the country already has had a large effect [01:59.48]on world food markets. [02:01.63]"You cannot understand the world of agriculture [02:04.37]and the production of agriculture [02:08.21]if you don't have China front and center [02:13.09]because of their importance in consumption, [02:15.58]because of their importance in production, [02:17.37]because of their importance in the shifts [02:19.96]and their changes in the market." [02:22.52]Jose Graziano Da Silva [02:24.80]is the head of the Food and Agriculture Organization, [02:29.08]he says reducing the large amount of food that is now wasted [02:34.35]would help meet the growing demand for food. [02:38.54]"We are still losing 30 percent to half of what we are producing now. [02:44.86]This is unbelievable, [02:49.85]and this is a lack of investment in food storage, [02:54.48]food transportation, better rural conditions." [02:59.24]The rise in the Chinese demand for food [03:02.30]is expected to cause grain and other commodity prices to rise. [03:08.26]Businesses have begun taking steps [03:11.74]because of China's influence on world food trade. [03:16.72]Last month, The Chinese meat processing company Shuanghui [03:21.55]announced a $7 billion offer [03:24.98]for the American pork company Smithfield Foods. [03:29.61]China is already the world's biggest importer of milk and soybeans. [03:35.74]It is expected to become the world's [03:38.71]biggest consumer of pork within ten years. [03:43.43]The FAO and OECD say that will cause international pork prices [03:50.80]to rise five to eight percent. [03:54.34]And that's the Economics Report, [03:57.03]I'm Kelly Jean Kelly.

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