Food Retail — Emissions in China

China: Food Retail — Emissions was 4,400 kt in 2023. ▲ Rising

Latest (2023)
4,400 kt
Change on year
down 5.7%
World rank
13th
of 190 countries
All-time high
4,667 kt
in 2022
All-time low
1,347 kt
in 1990
Years of data
34
1990–2023

Food Retail — Emissions in China, 1990–2023

1.0k2.0k3.0k4.0k5.0k1990200620231990: 1.3k kt1991: 1.5k kt1992: 1.5k kt1993: 1.7k kt1994: 1.9k kt1995: 1.9k kt1996: 2.0k kt1997: 2.1k kt1998: 2.3k kt1999: 2.4k kt2000: 2.6k kt2001: 2.9k kt2002: 3.0k kt2003: 3.4k kt2004: 3.4k kt2005: 3.5k kt2006: 3.7k kt2007: 3.8k kt2008: 3.8k kt2009: 3.8k kt2010: 3.7k kt2011: 3.8k kt2012: 3.8k kt2013: 3.9k kt2014: 3.9k kt2015: 3.8k kt2016: 3.8k kt2017: 3.8k kt2018: 4.5k kt2019: 4.4k kt2020: 4.3k kt2021: 4.3k kt2022: 4.7k kt2023: 4.4k kt

Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Measured in kt.

Analysis

The most recent figure for food retail — emissions in China is 4,400 kt, measured in 2023.

That represents a change of down 5.7% on the previous year and up 14.1% over ten years.

Over the whole period, food retail — emissions in China peaked at 4,667 kt in 2022 and was at its lowest, 1,347 kt, in 1990.

China ranks 13th of 190 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 34 years of available data.

Food Retail — Emissions in China, year by year

Annual values for Food Retail — Emissions (CO2) in China, 1990 to 2023.
Year kt Change
1990 1,347 kt —
1991 1,497 kt +11.2%
1992 1,525 kt +1.9%
1993 1,681 kt +10.2%
1994 1,871 kt +11.4%
1995 1,929 kt +3.1%
1996 2,032 kt +5.3%
1997 2,059 kt +1.3%
1998 2,324 kt +12.8%
1999 2,399 kt +3.2%
2000 2,649 kt +10.4%
2001 2,910 kt +9.9%
2002 3,023 kt +3.9%
2003 3,354 kt +10.9%
2004 3,367 kt +0.4%
2005 3,547 kt +5.4%
2006 3,666 kt +3.4%
2007 3,809 kt +3.9%
2008 3,769 kt -1.1%
2009 3,756 kt -0.3%
2010 3,661 kt -2.5%
2011 3,800 kt +3.8%
2012 3,809 kt +0.2%
2013 3,855 kt +1.2%
2014 3,931 kt +2.0%
2015 3,814 kt -3.0%
2016 3,830 kt +0.4%
2017 3,832 kt +0.1%
2018 4,527 kt +18.1%
2019 4,445 kt -1.8%
2020 4,269 kt -3.9%
2021 4,284 kt +0.3%
2022 4,667 kt +8.9%
2023 4,400 kt -5.7%

China compared with similar countries

  • China's 4,400 kt is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 262.5 kt, 16.8× the median. (52 countries reporting)
  • China's 4,400 kt is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 69.91 kt, 62.9× the median. (25 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1990s 1,866 kt 1,347 kt 2,399 kt 10
2000s 3,385 kt 2,649 kt 3,809 kt 10
2010s 3,950 kt 3,661 kt 4,527 kt 10
2020s 4,405 kt 4,269 kt 4,667 kt 4

Countries ranked near China

  1. 10 Lao People's Democratic Republic 218.34 kt compare
  2. 10 Poland 4,893 kt compare
  3. 11 Bolivia (Plurinational State of) 178.87 kt compare
  4. 11 Italy 4,823 kt compare
  5. 12 Syrian Arab Republic 147.66 kt compare
  6. 12 Thailand 4,428 kt compare
  7. 13 United Republic of Tanzania 134.63 kt compare
  8. 14 Republic of Moldova 122.18 kt compare
  9. 14 United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland 4,262 kt compare
  10. 15 Australia and New Zealand 4,142 kt compare
  11. 15 Melanesia 117.41 kt compare
  12. 16 Australia 3,939 kt compare
  13. 16 Polynesia 16.98 kt compare

See the full ranking of 243 places →

More climate change data for China

All data for China →

Frequently asked questions

What is food retail — emissions in China?
Food retail — emissions in China was 4,400 kt in 2023, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
What is the highest food retail — emissions recorded in China?
The highest recorded value was 4,667 kt in 2022.
What is the lowest food retail — emissions recorded in China?
The lowest recorded value was 1,347 kt in 1990.
How does China rank for food retail — emissions?
China ranks 13th out of 190 countries with data for 2023.
Is food retail — emissions rising or falling in China?
Over the last ten years it is up 14.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this China data come from?
The figures come from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, published as part of Food Retail — Emissions (CO2). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Food Retail — Emissions in China. Statizoid, drawing on Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Retrieved 27 September 2026, from https://climate.statizoid.com/stat/food-retail-emissions-co2/china/

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About this data

Indicator
Food Retail — Emissions (CO2)
Unit
kt
Source
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Licence
CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO (FAO)
Coverage
243 places, 7,524 data points, 1990–2023
Last refreshed

The FAOSTAT domain on Emissions from Pre- and post- agricultural production includes the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and related activity data, generated from pre- and post-agriculture production stages of the agri-food systems. Data are computed following the Tier 1 methods of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Guidelines for National greenhouse gas (GHG) Inventories (IPCC, 1996; 1997; 2000; 2002; 2006; 2014). The domain includes methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O), carbon dioxide (CO2) and CO2 equivalent (CO2eq) emissions from the above activities as well as the aggregate fluorinated gases (F-gases) emissions. Estimates are available by country, with global coverage and are updated annually.The FAOSTAT domain disseminates information estimates of CH4, N2O, CO2 emissions, F-gases, their aggregates in CO2eq in units of kilotonnes (kt, or 10^6 kg), and the underlying activity data. CO2eq emissions are computed by using the IPCC Fifth Assessment report global warming potentials, AR5 (IPCC, 2014). Data are available for most countries and territories, for standard FAOSTAT regional aggregations, and for Annex I and non-Annex I country groups.