Manya Rathore
Research expert covering India
Agriculture in the Asia-Pacific region - statistics & facts
The Asia-Pacific region is the largest and most diverse agricultural market worldwide. The region covers a diverse range of climates, farmland, and agricultural production methods, resulting in substantial differences in production between individual countries. Many countries in the region have a large proportion of agricultural land, including some of the largest economies in the world, such as China, India, and Australia. The size of arable land in India and China is among the top five globally.
Sustainable agriculture practices are becoming more important in the region due to the environmental burden agricultural practices can impose on land. The development of organic agricultural land in Asia has doubled in size compared to a decade ago. Australia and Oceania have the highest shares of organic land, with Australia at around ten percent. Over half of the organic land in Asia is used for arable land crops such as cereals, oilseeds, and textile corps.
Landscape of agriculture market in the Asia-Pacific region
Rice is a staple crop in many Asian countries. Other important crops include sugarcane, wheat, maize, tea, coffee, and various fruits and vegetables. China and India produce the highest volumes of rice, wheat, and tea leaves in the Asia-Pacific region. India also produces the highest volume of sugarcane second only to Brazil. On the other hand, Southeast Asia has their own specialties. The Philippines produces high volumes of coconut, while Thailand is known for its natural rubber, Vietnam for its coffee, and Malaysia for its palm oil. With Southeast Asia's largest agricultural land area, Indonesia produces plentiful crops. Fruits are Asia's biggest agricultural export, while cereals and oil crops are the leading imports.Sustainable agriculture practices are becoming more important in the region due to the environmental burden agricultural practices can impose on land. The development of organic agricultural land in Asia has doubled in size compared to a decade ago. Australia and Oceania have the highest shares of organic land, with Australia at around ten percent. Over half of the organic land in Asia is used for arable land crops such as cereals, oilseeds, and textile corps.
Technology use in the agriculture industry
Agricultural technology practices in many Asia-Pacific countries are traditional and labor-intensive, while some have more advanced, mechanized, and commercial approaches. Four percent of the surveyed farmers in China and India were using or willing to adopt precision agriculture hardware, sustainability-related tech, and remote sensors. China is also leading in the use of agricultural biologicals such as biostimulants and biofertilizers. The usage of robotics in agriculture is gaining prevalence in Asia. Specifically, the agriculture robotics industry in East and South Asia is forecast to expand significantly in the coming years.
