Food Security in Asia

Food security can be defined as the perceived availability of a high-quality, domestically-produced staple food supply which will maintain the existing standard of living. This book provides a forum for a panel of distinguished authors to debate such issues as whether or not many developed countries in Asia - such as Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, China, Hong Kong and Singapore - have legitimate concerns about their food security. They find, controversially, that this issue is of importance to all countries, not just to developing countries lacking the income to acquire an adequate food supply. The authors analyse the forces affecting the demand for, and supply of, staples such as rice, vegetable oils and protein meals. Rice is the most important staple in Asia and so the authors pay particular attention to the effects of rice production strategies and trade policies on food security. They examine the implications of trade liberalisation in the ASEAN free trade area and in East Asia on agricultural trade and food security. They also discuss the implications of China's ongoing economic transition on its intra-provincial and international agricultural trade, and its policy on self-sufficiency. Food Security in Asia provides a timely evaluation of the food security issue which will be of interest to scholars of Asian studies, agricultural economics and international economics.