Scope of Database
The database includes data items relevant to assessing the supply and demand for major agricultural commodities in China. The items are selected by ERS and are a small subset of the official statistics published by the Chinese government. The database includes only official statistics published by the Chinese government. In some cases, they may differ from Chinese statistics in other USDA statistical publications or databases.
Sources
Most data are published by the China National Bureau of Statistics (NBS, China’s official statistical agency) in the annual China
Statistical Abstract, China Statistical Yearbook, Rural Statistical Yearbook,
Rural Household Survey Yearbook, Urban Household Survey Yearbook, and China
Monthly Economic Indicators. NBS conducted agricultural censuses that provide benchmark data on rural employment, cultivated land, and livestock for 1996 and 2006. Some statistics on minor crops are obtained from the China Ministry of Agriculture, China
Agricultural Statistics Summary (Zhongguo Nongye Tongji Ziliao). Food consumption, per capita food expenditure, and household income statistics are estimated by NBS from rural and urban household surveys. Food consumption data are annual average per capita amounts consumed by rural households and purchased by urban households.
The data are based on household surveys and administrative reporting. Users
should be aware that methods and definitions have changed over time, creating
major discontinuities in some data series. Occasionally, data are revised.
In 2006, China revised gross domestic product (GDP) statistics upward. The
2008 update of the ERS database replaced historical livestock, GDP and employment
figures with revised estimates published in current editions of Chinese statistical
yearbooks. Livestock and meat statistics for 2000-06 were revised following
results from a new agricultural census for the year 2006 that showed smaller
livestock inventories and output than was previously estimated. Some crop
statistics for 2006 were also revised after the census. A summary of the
2006 revisions is available in Comparison
of China Agricultural Statistics.
Cultivated land area statistics were revised upward for 1996 after China's
first agricultural census was conducted in 1997. Livestock inventories and production
were revised downward after the 1996 census. Livestock and cultivated land
area statistics for years prior to 1996 are included in the database although
they may be inaccurate.
See Data Sources for information on
which sources were used for various data series.
For more information on China statistics, see:
Data Items
For the national level, the database contains 250 data items:
- major crops: production and sown area
- livestock: inventory, slaughter, and output
of meat
- agricultural inputs
- food and agricultural price indexes
- urban and rural per capita food consumption
- industrial output of selected products
- selected macroeconomic data
At the provincial level (45 data items):
- crops: production and sown area, 1979-2005
- livestock production, various years
- value of agricultural output, 1999-2005
- rural, city, and town population, 2000
(census)
- total population, 1982-2005
Units
Most items are reported in standard units such as kilograms,
hectares, and Chinese yuan. All references to tons are metric
tons (1,000 kg.) Users should be aware that many items are reported
in 10,000s or 100 millions.
Updates
New data are added to this database, usually once a year, as statistical publications
are obtained by ERS. The China
Statistical Abstract, containing preliminary, partial
data for the previous calendar year, is usually published
annually in April or May. The China Statistical Yearbook
and other publications are usually published annually in October
or November. New or revised data are added to the database
with a lag, subject to ERS resource availability and priorities.
The latest data are available with a 1- to 2-year lag.
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