Which has higher net food imports by crop - barley, China or Iran?

China, at 5.96 million against 3.29 million in Iran as of 2019.

What is the difference in net food imports by crop - barley between China and Iran?

2.67 million, with China ahead.

How many years of comparable data are there for China and Iran?

59 years are reported by both, from 1961 to 2019.

Where does this data come from?

FAOSTAT. Available at: http://www.fao.org/faostat/en/#data, published as Net food imports by crop - Barley. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

China vs Iran: Net food imports by crop - Barley

China

5.96 million

in 2019

Iran

3.29 million

in 2019

China rank

1st

Iran rank

3rd

Net food imports by crop - Barley over time

China
Iran

How they compare

China currently reports 5.96 million against 3.29 million in Iran, a difference of 2.67 million.

That makes China's figure about 1.8 times Iran's.

The two have swapped places 12 times across 59 shared years of data; in 1961 it was China ahead.

China ranks 1st and Iran ranks 3rd of 157 countries.

China has averaged higher in every one of the 6 decades both report.

Head to head by decade

Decade	China	Iran	Difference	Ahead
1960s	270,639	-219	270,858	China
1970s	337,494	171,865	165,629	China
1980s	444,820	409,579	35,242	China
1990s	1.51 million	441,454	1.07 million	China
2000s	1.83 million	708,446	1.12 million	China
2010s	5.22 million	1.71 million	3.51 million	China

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher net food imports by crop - barley, China or Iran?: China, at 5.96 million against 3.29 million in Iran as of 2019.
What is the difference in net food imports by crop - barley between China and Iran?: 2.67 million, with China ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for China and Iran?: 59 years are reported by both, from 1961 to 2019.
How do China and Iran rank globally for net food imports by crop - barley?: China ranks 1st and Iran ranks 3rd of 157 countries.
Where does this data come from?: FAOSTAT. Available at: http://www.fao.org/faostat/en/#data, published as Net food imports by crop - Barley. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

Individual pages

About this data

Indicator: Net food imports by crop - Barley
Source: FAOSTAT. Available at: http://www.fao.org/faostat/en/#data
Licence: CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage: 158 places, 6,776 data points, 1961–2019
Last refreshed: 10 August 2026

Net food imports are generated from FAOSTAT, taking Export level (tonnes) from the Import level (tonnes) [both under Trade: Crops and Livestock Products]. Net food imports are a proxy for the country's vulnerability to global food prices.