Trade Ecological Footprint Analysis of China's Agricultural

Abstract

This paper employs the ecological footprint analysis method to analyze the ecological footprint of the import and export trade of major agricultural products during the years of 1990-2009 in China. The results indicate that the footprint of the main agricultural products’ import and export of China presents obvious two-stage characteristics: during the years of 1991-2001, the import and export trade as a whole tended to be stable with ecological deficit; however, during the years of 2001-2009 the import trade increased significantly. The export trade tended to be stable. There was ecological surplus in successive years. In order to promote the sustainable development of China’s major agricultural products, we should optimize the industrial structure of the major agricultural products, implement the technical improvement of crops, ameliorate the ecological environment of crop production, and promote the development strategy of agricultural trade.