Industrial Agglomeration in China’s Agricultural Product Processing Industry

Abstract

Industrial agglomeration is the inevitable outcome of the economic development process. The agricultural product processing industry is a basic industry of the national economy and an important pillar industry for safeguarding the people’s livelihood. It mainly covers 12 sub-industries: food processing, food manufacturing, beverage manufacturing, tobacco industry, textiles, etc. in China. The primary objective of this paper is to ascertain the existence of industrial agglomeration in agricultural product processing industry of China, and to examine the extent to which these have contributed to productivity growth in China. We use the Ellison-Glaeser index (EG index) to analyze the concentration level of China’s agricultural product processing industry in 2000–2009. The analysis is conducted from six regions and five sub-industries. Based on this, we then use GIS technology to analyze the spatial distribution characteristics and change. Finally, we interpret the agglomeration trend and the reasons of China’s agricultural product processing. Results show that in five sub-industries of China’s agricultural product processing industry, food, tobacco industry and wood, furniture industry had higher industrial agglomeration, the distribution of textiles, clothing and leather industry is relatively even, and paper-making, printing and rubber products processing industry had no industrial agglomeration. From 2007 to 2009, food, tobacco; textile, clothing, leather; wood, furniture; paper, printing; and rubber products processing industry tended to be lower industrial agglomeration and even no industrial agglomeration. Industrial agglomeration closely relates to the natural capacity and localization shows a growth trend. Based on these results, some policy recommendations are put forward. These findings may help for the development of the agricultural product processing industry in China and even other developing countries.