Resources are not distributed evenly across the globe. Oil is concentrated in regions such as the Southern US and the Middle East, whereas Australia, Chile and China are the leading producers of lithium. It is these concentrations of resources that underpin international politics and trade – and contribute to building a country’s resilience. The same applies to food.
Keeping track of self-sufficiency
The Savills Global Food Self-Sufficiency Tracker monitors the self-sufficiency of food production across 20 nations. It takes into account a range of figures reported by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations. For example, it considers the weight of food produced, imported and exported as well as the calories consumed per capita. These statistics are then analysed to determine how much of a nation’s consumption is fulfilled by domestic production – also known as self-sufficiency.
In addition, we specifically consider the total calories consumed by each nation as a proportion of the daily nutritional requirement. It includes feed consumed by livestock and lost as waste, so the value is considerably higher than any individual is likely to consume directly. Each nation therefore exceeds 100%.
The Savills Global Food Self-Sufficiency Tracker
Source: Savills Research using data from the FAO
The percentage of calories consumed by each nation as a fraction of the daily nutritional requirement remains relatively constant (between 113% for Japan and 166% for the US). How that translates into self-sufficiency is far more variable, ranging from 51% self-sufficiency for Japan to 194% for New Zealand. This is a reflection of land availability and national preferences.
New Zealand, known for its extensive pastoral agriculture and openness to international trade, is 829% self-sufficient in beef production and 961% self-sufficient in butter. Japan, where productive farmland is in slim supply, is self-sufficient in only nine of the 88 categories considered by the tracker.
United Kingdom
The UK picture is a complex one. Livestock feed on a relatively large area of productive grassland. This generates a lower calorie consumption per head because British livestock – particularly dairy and beef cattle – are fed less grain than in other countries. Even so, the UK feeds about 50% of its wheat and more than 70% of its barley to livestock – meaning the calories consumed are still well in excess of those needed to provide for the population. In terms of self-sufficiency, the UK is one of the poorest performers in the tracker, at 62%.
The Netherlands
The Netherlands has been very innovative and this has helped it become a world-leader in the food market. Three quarters of the top 20 largest agrifood businesses in the world, including Nestlé, Coca-Cola and Unilever, have major R&D centres in the Netherlands. Although it’s relatively small in terms of land, the Netherlands has nearly 24,000 hectares of glasshouses. This enables it to grow more food per hectare with fewer inputs such as fertilisers and water.
The Netherlands is also the second-largest exporter of food and food products by value, after the US. This may be attributable to a technicality known as the “Rotterdam effect”, whereby exports that pass through a second trading bloc’s port en route to a third are recorded as originating from that second port.
Japan
With a large population and little productive farmland, Japan is hugely reliant on imports – making it only 51% self-sufficient. Unlike in other countries, however, consumption has not increased in line with wealth. Consumption of meat and dairy products is relatively low, increasing availability, and excess consumption is the lowest of the sample.
Eating meat has only recently become a part of Japan’s food culture. According to a study from the National Agriculture and Food Research Organisation, fresh fish was preferred to fresh meat until 2007. Japanese consumers have a preference for domestically produced meat, but scarcity of farmland means it is in short supply.
US
The US is a major exporting country with an overwhelming level of self-sufficiency in most commodities, despite high levels of consumption. One notable exception is barley, which the US imports. Although barley grows well in the US, it is less profitable than wheat or maize, so is rarely sown: 44,894,000 tonnes of wheat were produced in the US in 2021, compared with just 2,562,000 tonnes of barley. This led to a tracker score of 125% self-sufficiency in wheat – equal to more than 9 million tonnes of exports.
New Zealand
Agriculture is currently the largest sector in the tradable economy in New Zealand, with a particular focus on the export of livestock products. The country is 829% self-sufficient in beef, 961% self-sufficient in butter and 238% self-sufficient in milk. Ideal soil and climate ensure an abundance of grassland, much of which is used to feed livestock.
Since the 1990s, however, dairy farming has become more prevalent. Around 70% of New Zealand beef now derives from the dairy herd. Livestock production is likely to continue, but environmental pressures, relating to methane production and nutrient pollution will likely curtail further increases in overall herd size. This, coupled with weakening margins, will drive a move towards refocusing on high-quality, premium livestock produce rather than further volume increases.
More than natural resources to consider
There is a huge gulf between the self-sufficiency of different countries. Trade is key to balancing out these inequalities and redistributing where there is excess. Nations should consider the expertise of their farmers, the climate, the wider economy, as well as their natural resources when deciding the best way to provide for their citizens.
