Some people suggest that a country should try to produce all the food for its population and import as little food as possible. To what extent do you agree or disagree?

Food import and export trade has significantly strengthened exchanges and cooperation among different countries. While some people are for completely self production, I disagree with the food dependency restrictions.

It is unrealistic to have fully developed agriculture in every country all of a sudden. Due to geographical differences, countries in Africa or Middle East are known unsuitable for crop planting. Also, some developing countries do not even have the crop transport equipments and agricultural product processing machinery to support the harvest and food processing. Their domestic production can hardly achieve a sustainable supply. Without sufficient imports, people will suffer from lack of food and various nutritions their body needs. Banning imports could also hurt global economy if the excessive production can not be traded.

Wisely importing food is believed to have a positive impact on country development. With access to all kinds of food, people have more choices of tastes and diet combinations. As the trade is growing fast, more job opportunities on logistics will be created. Freight forwarding companies like DHL has been growing and expanding phenomenally, connecting cargos all over the world. Technologies are applied into the transportation process to keep fruits and vegetables fresh. A win-win relationship can be enhanced between different countries as they need each other for long term stable growth.

In conclusion, I believe it is both unrealistic and unnecessary to cut down food imports.