Taiwan's New Radar & Rice Consumption

choi

(1) Chen Pei-huang and Lilian Wu, Taiwan's new early warning radar system covers as far as 3,000 nautical miles. Central News Agency, Jan 5, 2013.
http://focustaiwan.tw/ShowNews/W ... amp;ID=201301050026

Quote:

(a) "Taiwan's new early warning radar system covers nearly 360 degrees and a reconnaissance distance as far as 3,000 nautical miles that helped Taiwan detect North Korea's rocket launch even minutes earlier than Japan, a source with the [Taiwan's] Air Force has said.

(b) "The budget of the US-built radar system was increased by another US$200 million last year to more than NT$40 billion (US$1.38 billin), an mount the Air Force found unacceptable and has asked for an arbitration.

"Statistics showed that the system is more powerful than those of the same type currently in service in the United States, according to the source.

choi

(2) Joanne Hsu and Elaine Hou, Taiwan's Rice Consumption Falls Amid Weight Loss Trend. Jan 2, 2013
http://focustaiwan.tw/ShowNews/W ... amp;ID=201301020011
("Taiwan's annual per capita rice consumption was only 45 kilograms in 2011, compared with 98 kg recorded in 1981, the agency [Agriculture and Food Agency, Council of Agriculture, Taiwan] said in a recent statement")

My comment:
(a) There is no need to read the rest, whcih in my view is speculation.
(b) rice
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rice
(section 8.1 Worldwide consumption: Between 1961 and 2002, per capita consumption of rice increased by 40% [world-wide])

The first clause of section 8.1 is "As of 2009 world food consumption of rice was 531,639 thousands metric tons of paddy equivalent (354,603 of milled equivalent)." the former means rice in the hull, and the second, milled rice.

(c) Chiou Mey Perng, Taiwan[:] Grain and Feed Annual[;] Wheat, corn and rice. Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS), US Department of Agriculture, Apr 13, 2012 (GAIN Report Number: TW12008)
gain.fas.usda.gov/Recent%20GAIN%20Publications/Grain%20and%20Feed%20Annual_Taipei_Taiwan_4-13-2012.pdf
("Taiwan is almost wholly dependent on imports of wheat and corn"/ "Taiwan's overall food self-sufficiency rate wasan estimated 32 percent in 2010, one of the lowest levels in Asia"/ per capita consumption: milled rice 48kg; no discernable data for wheat or corn)

The corresponding report for China by Joshua Emmanuel Lagos and Jiang Junyang of USDA (GAIN Report Number: CH12022; published Mar 2, 2012) does not provide per capita consumption for wheat, corn or rice.

(d) Chapter 2 Profiling Food Consumption in America, in Agriculture Fact Book 2001-2002, US Department of Agriculture.
www.usda.gov/factbook/chapter2.pdf
(annual average in 2000, pounds per capita: wheat flour 146.3, corn products 28.4, rice 19.7)

The 2001-2002 edition is the latest by USDA.
http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal/u ... ntid=agfactbook.xml

(e) China
(i) Samarendu Mohanty, China per Capita Rice Consumption (Rural vs Urban). Food and Agricultural institute, Iowa State University, undated (Slide 7 of 56).
http://www.fapri.iastate.edu/kcr ... ewGrains/sld007.htm
(in 2008/09: ~100kg rural (stable since 1987/88; ~52kg urban (decreasing since 1987/88, which was ~78kg))
(ii) Which Countries Consume the Most Rice?  International Rice Research Institute (IRRI, an NGO based near Manila), undated
("You are here:About Rice>Rice facts>FAQ>Which countries consume the most rice?")
http://www.irri.org/index.php?op ... d=12109&lang=en
(IN 2007, as a country, China consumed the most rice--but per capita, China does not rank in top ten)