Chen Wei, Zhao Xiquan
Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China.
College of Resource and Environment, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China.
Foods. 2023 Sep 2;12(17):3298. doi: 10.3390/foods12173298.
Rice holds a significant position as one of the world's most important food crops, and international trade plays a crucial role in regulating rice supply and demand. Analyzing the structural evolution of the global rice trade from a network perspective is paramount for understanding the global rice-trade supply chain and ensuring global food security. This study utilizes international rice-trade data from 2000 to 2021 and employs various network analysis methods to depict the spatial and temporal patterns of the global rice trade, examines the network topologies of the global rice trade, and reveals the impacts of its evolution on food security. The research findings are as follows: (1) Global rice-trade scale has increased over time, indicating a relatively stable development with the gradual formation of complex rice-trade networks. Since 2000, the global rice-trade networks have shown increasing density characterized by Asia as the primary export source and Africa as an important import market. (2) Network analysis indicators demonstrate a growing trend in the size and density of the global rice-trade networks, along with increasingly optimized network structures and improved network connectivity efficiency. Core positions in the networks are occupied by Thailand, Vietnam, India, China, Pakistan, and the United States, while import partners in European and American countries, such as Germany, France, UK, Canada, The Netherlands, and Belgium, show greater diversification. Asia, Europe, and North America form agglomeration regions for rice-exporting countries. Additionally, importing and exporting countries in the global rice-trade networks exhibit certain geographical concentrations. (3) The network backbones of the global rice trade are continuously evolving and being refined, characterized by dominant large rice-exporting countries in Asia and prominent developed countries in Europe and North America. The backbone structures revolve around India as the core, Thailand and Pakistan as the second cores, and critical nodes represented by Italy, the United States, China, and Vietnam. Regional backbone networks have also formed in Asia and Europe. Based on these findings, this paper clarifies the complex network characteristics of the global rice trade and offers insights to promote international rice-trade cooperation and safeguard global food security.
水稻作为世界上最重要的粮食作物之一，占据着重要地位，而国际贸易在调节水稻供需方面发挥着关键作用。从网络视角分析全球水稻贸易的结构演变，对于理解全球水稻贸易供应链和确保全球粮食安全至关重要。本研究利用2000年至2021年的国际水稻贸易数据，采用多种网络分析方法描绘全球水稻贸易的时空格局，考察全球水稻贸易的网络拓扑结构，并揭示其演变对粮食安全的影响。研究结果如下：（1）全球水稻贸易规模随时间增长，表明随着复杂水稻贸易网络的逐渐形成，其发展相对稳定。自2000年以来，全球水稻贸易网络密度不断增加，以亚洲为主要出口源，非洲为重要进口市场。（2）网络分析指标显示，全球水稻贸易网络的规模和密度呈增长趋势，网络结构日益优化，网络连通效率提高。网络中的核心地位由泰国、越南、印度、中国、巴基斯坦和美国占据，而欧美国家的进口伙伴，如德国、法国、英国、加拿大、荷兰和比利时，呈现出更大的多样性。亚洲、欧洲和北美形成了水稻出口国的集聚区域。此外，全球水稻贸易网络中的进出口国家呈现出一定的地理集中性。（3）全球水稻贸易的网络主干不断演变和完善，以亚洲占主导地位的大型水稻出口国以及欧洲和北美的发达国家为特征。主干结构以印度为核心，泰国和巴基斯坦为次核心，以及以意大利、美国、中国和越南为代表的关键节点。亚洲和欧洲也形成了区域主干网络。基于这些发现，本文阐明了全球水稻贸易的复杂网络特征，并为促进国际水稻贸易合作和保障全球粮食安全提供了见解。
