Rural wheat consumption in China

The share of wheat in China's overall grain production and consumption has increased since economic reform. China is also a large wheat importer, but imports am erratic. In the literature, there is disagreement over future pr ospects for per capita wheat consumption in China and imports. Most of the wheat is consumed in rural areas where the majority of the population resid es and where consumers have shifted from coarse grains and potatoes to whea t. We analyze rural wheat consumption using household data from two provinc es. We find there is evidence to support a contention that China's-per capi ta wheat consumption may not grow very fast in the future and could actuall y fall.