Organic Agriculture in China

Summary

China is a world leader in organic agriculture. China is fourth in the world on the basis of certified organic hectares, with 3,589,807 hectares (after Australia, India, and Argentina). China is the third largest market for organic food with €15.463 million annual retail sales (after USA and Germany). China is the world leader in organic cereal hectares at 2,009,240 ha (followed by USA and Germany). China is the world leader in organic aquaculture with an annual production of 878,000 tonnes and accounting for 83% of global organic aquaculture (followed by Norway and Ireland). China is second in the world for organic wild collection hectares at 3,306,000 ha (after Finland, and followed by Zambia). China is the world leader in organic arable land at 2,981,454 ha (followed by USA and France). China is the world leader in temperate fruit organic area at 103,739 ha (followed by Germany and France). China is the world leader in organic oilseeds hectares at 606,853 ha (followed by USA and Ukraine). China has the world’s fourth largest organic vegetable hectares at 40,697 ha (after USA, Italy, and Poland). China is the second largest exporter of organic produce to the European Union at 239,023 tonnes (after Ecuador, and followed by Ukraine). The global total of certified organic hectares is 99,891,258 ha and accounts for 2.1% of global agricultural land with a production value of €144.9 billion. China’s growth and development of organic agriculture is congruent with the 14th Five Year Plan of the National People’s Congress. China has a novel and well developed Green Food certification protocol that offers producers a ‘half-way-house’ between organic and chemical farming practices. Green Food certifies 10.55 million hectares and is a potential step-up pathway to transition to organic as well as a step-back pathway for organic producers.