Jia Liming, professor and dean of the School of Forestry at Beijing Forestry University, stated that in 2024, China's annual forest food production exceeded 200 million tonnes, averaging 140 kilograms per capita, making it the third-largest agricultural product after grain and vegetables. The annual production of woody oil crops, such as oil-seed camellia and walnut, reached 9.68 million tonnes, while woody grains, including chestnut, jujube, persimmon and pine nut, totaled 14 million tonnes a year. This has significantly eased the pressure on grain and oil supply. Moreover, the development of forest food does not occupy arable land.

Jia noted that over the 40 years since the launch of the Three-North Shelterbelt Forest Program (TSFP), nearly 1.7 million hectares of farmland shelter forests and 7.9 million hectares of windbreak and sand-fixing forests have been established. As a result, grain production in the TSFP area has increased by 15 to 20 percent.

Pine nuts. /VCG