World Foods

The global production of primary crop commodities reached 9.5 billion
tonnes in 2021, increasing by 54 percent since 2000 and 2 percent since
2020.
→ The global production of cereals went up 64 million tonnes, or
2.1 percent, between 2020 and 2021, driven by a 4.1 percent increases
in maize production. Maize, wheat and rice accounted for 90 percent of
the total cereals production in 2021.
→ The world production of sugar crops increased marginally between
2020 and 2021. Sugar cane is the main sugar crop, with 1.9 billion
tonnes in 2021, compared 270 million tonnes in 2021 for sugar beet.
→ Roots and tubers global production rose by 1.9 percent between 2020
and 2021, mostly due to an increase in cassava and potatoes
production.
→ In 2021, world fruit and vegetable production reached 910 million
tonnes (+1.1 percent from 2020) and 1.2 billion tonnes (+1.4 percent),
respectively.
→ The production of oil palm fruit, soya beans and rapeseed, the main oil
crops contributing to vegetable oils, reached a volume of 859 million
tons in 2021, increasing by 2 percent from 2020.
→ Chicken, pig, and cattle were the main meats produced worldwide,
accounting for 316 million tonnes in 2021.
→ China’s pig meat production recovered in 2021 after the low volumes of
2019–2020 caused by the African swine fever outbreak.

OVERVIEW OF THE GLOBAL AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION DATA
The past two decades have seen a steady upward trend in world agricultural production to meet
expanding demand, with primary crops production growing by 54 percent between 2000 and 2021, meat
production growing by 53 percent and milk production by 58 percent. The growth in agricultural
production since 2000 was therefore faster than the growth in population (29 percent), due to the
intensification in farming activities (with an increased use of irrigation, pesticides and fertilizers, and
cropland expansion) and enhanced production technologies (including improved farming practices and
the use of high-yield crops), all the while facing the adverse effects of climate change.
Over the last decade, the primary crops annual production growth rate was the highest in 2011
(5.7 percent, led by sugar crops) and 2013 (4.8 percent, driven by cereals and oil crops). It slowed down
towards the end of the 2010s and was even negative in 2020 as the production of both sugar beet and
sugar cane dropped due to a combination of adverse weather conditions, political regulations and the
spread of the beet yellow virus that induced a sharp decline in production for many large producers.
However, aggregate primary crop data did not show a clear correlation with global economic trends
during the period of the COVID-19 pandemic even though some production phases may have been
locally affected.
Meat production showed an overall steady increase since 2000, but with a sharp drop in 2019 because
of the African swine fever outbreak that hit several Asian countries, in particular China. Milk production
kept increasing throughout the period, with annual growth rates around 1–3 percent except in 2021