Which has higher net food imports by crop - maize, China or Spain?

Spain, at 9.86 million against 9.62 million in China as of 2019.

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

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 - Maize. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

China vs Spain: Net food imports by crop - Maize

China

9.62 million

in 2019

Spain

9.86 million

in 2019

China rank

6th

Spain rank

5th

Net food imports by crop - Maize over time

China
Spain

How they compare

Spain currently reports 9.86 million against 9.62 million in China, a difference of 246,120.

The two have swapped places 7 times across 59 shared years of data; in 1961 it was China ahead.

China ranks 6th and Spain ranks 5th of 177 countries.

Across the 6 decades both report, China averaged higher in 4 and Spain in 2.

Head to head by decade

Decade	China	Spain	Difference	Ahead
1960s	529,957	1.52 million	985,195	Spain
1970s	2.29 million	3.34 million	1.06 million	Spain
1980s	4.36 million	2.59 million	1.77 million	China
1990s	6.15 million	1.71 million	4.44 million	China
2000s	4.92 million	3.92 million	1.01 million	China
2010s	7.73 million	6.55 million	1.18 million	China

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher net food imports by crop - maize, China or Spain?: Spain, at 9.86 million against 9.62 million in China as of 2019.
What is the difference in net food imports by crop - maize between China and Spain?: 246,120, with Spain ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for China and Spain?: 59 years are reported by both, from 1961 to 2019.
How do China and Spain rank globally for net food imports by crop - maize?: China ranks 6th and Spain ranks 5th of 177 countries.
Where does this data come from?: FAOSTAT. Available at: http://www.fao.org/faostat/en/#data, published as Net food imports by crop - Maize. 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 - Maize
Source: FAOSTAT. Available at: http://www.fao.org/faostat/en/#data
Licence: CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage: 178 places, 7,874 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.