The Impact of Mungbean Research in China

1 IntroductionChina has experienced rapid economic developmentin the past two decades. Economic reformshave brought about higher incomes, stable food supplies,and changes in people’s food consumptionpatterns. In general, Chinese are demanding higherquality, more nutritious foods in their diets. Thesechanges drive the agricultural supply side, inducinga shift to the production of more high-quality foods.Mungbean has been a valuable source of nutritionin Chinese diets for centuries. Mungbean isoften praised as a “green pearl” because of its richnessin protein, starch, minerals, vitamin B, andamino acids. Mungbean is consumed as a seed,sprout, or in processed forms that include cold jellies,noodles, cakes, and brews. Mungbean is alsoused in traditional medicines.This study aims to understand the impact ofmungbean research in China. It covers:• a detailed description of mungbean variety improvementin China;• agricultural policies related to mungbean production;• production trends of mungbean and related legumes;• nutritional qualities and consumption trends ofmungbean;• China’s international trade of mungbean;• price analysis of mungbean in China;• producer and consumer surplus analysis; andthe• impact of mungbean research on the developmentof human capital.During the 1950s, China was a major producerof mungbean. For instance, in 1957 the area sownunder mungbean was 1.64 million ha and the outputwas approximately 800,000 tons. However,mungbean yield was relatively low at only 488 kg/ha, mainly due to the low-input cultivation technologyand impure seed supplies.Mungbean production in China declined throughthe 1960s and 1970s as the national governmentplaced higher priority on other grains. Then an initiativeon mungbean research in the 1980s stoppedthe decline and dramatically changed productionpractices in the country. Through the developmentof high yielding varieties and improved productionpractices, yields increased to 914 kg/ha in 1986and 1154 kg/ha in 2000. The land in mungbean productionin 2000 was 772,000 ha and overall productionwas 891,000 tons. Due to high consumer demand,mungbean production levels have stabilizedwhereas production of most other grain crops havedecreased. The crop is an important export good inChina.1