International College Beijing, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100083, China.
College of Economics and Management, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100083, China.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022 Mar 30;19(7):4119. doi: 10.3390/ijerph19074119.
The international cereal trade can mitigate global water stress by saving virtual scarce water (VSW). Based on bilateral trade data, this study assessed VSW savings and losses in the international trade of three major cereals (i.e., wheat, maize, and rice) from 2008 to 2017 by incorporating the water stress index (WSI) into a virtual water assessment. We found that the trade in wheat and maize saved a significant amount of VSW, while the rice trade led to increasingly severe losses of VSW. This study identified the top trades of VSW savings and losses for each cereal. Wheat and maize were primarily exported from the countries that are relatively abundant in water resources (e.g., United States, Brazil, Argentina, Russia) to water-scarce countries (e.g., Mexico and Egypt), whereas rice was exported mainly from India and Pakistan, two of the most water-stressed countries. We suggest that policy makers consider VSW savings and losses when making cereal trading decisions to alleviate global water stress.
国际谷物贸易可以通过节约虚拟稀缺水资源（VSW）来缓解全球水资源压力。本研究基于双边贸易数据，通过将水资源压力指数（WSI）纳入虚拟水评估，评估了 2008 年至 2017 年三种主要谷物（小麦、玉米和水稻）国际贸易中的 VSW 节约和损失。结果发现，小麦和玉米的贸易节约了大量的 VSW，而水稻贸易导致 VSW 的损失越来越严重。本研究确定了每种谷物 VSW 节约和损失的主要贸易。小麦和玉米主要由水资源相对丰富的国家（如美国、巴西、阿根廷、俄罗斯）出口到水资源短缺的国家（如墨西哥和埃及），而水稻主要由水资源压力最大的两个国家印度和巴基斯坦出口。我们建议决策者在做出谷物贸易决策时，考虑 VSW 的节约和损失，以缓解全球水资源压力。
