Virtual Water Flows Between Nations in Relation to Trade in Livestock and Livestock Products
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A.K. Chapagain Virtual water flows A.Y. Hoekstra between nations in August 2003 relation to trade in livestock and livestock products Value of Water Research Report Series No. 13 Virtual water flows between nations in relation to trade in livestock and livestock products A.K. Chapagain A.Y. Hoekstra August 2003 Value of Water Research Report Series No. 13 UNESCO-IHE Contact author: P.O. Box 3015 Arjen Hoekstra 2601 DA Delft Phone +31 15 215 18 28 The Netherlands E-mail [email protected] Contents Summary................................................................................................................................ 7 1. Introduction ...................................................................................................................... 9 1.1. The concept of virtual water.....................................................................................................................9 1.2. Virtual water flows between nations ......................................................................................................10 1.3. Objectives of the study ...........................................................................................................................10 2. Method............................................................................................................................. 11 2.1. Overview ................................................................................................................................................11 2.2. Calculation of the virtual water content of live animals .........................................................................11 2.2.1. The three components of the virtual water content of a live animal .............................................11 2.2.2. Virtual water content from feed consumed ...................................................................................11 2.2.3. Virtual water content from drinking water ...................................................................................12 2.2.4. Virtual water content from service water .....................................................................................13 2.3. Calculation of the virtual water content of livestock products ...............................................................13 2.3.1. Levels of production .....................................................................................................................13 2.3.2. First level of processing (primary products from live animals)....................................................13 2.3.3. Second level of processing (secondary products from primary products)....................................14 2.3.4. Illustration of the calculation of the virtual water content of ‘bovine products’ ..........................15 2.4. Calculation of virtual water trade flows between nations.......................................................................18 2.5. Calculation of a nation’s water footprint, water self-sufficiency and water dependency .......................19 3. Data sources................................................................................................................... 21 3.1. Global trade in livestock products ..........................................................................................................21 3.2. Farming systems.....................................................................................................................................23 3.3. Feed composition by kind of animal ......................................................................................................25 3.4. Drinking water requirement....................................................................................................................28 3.5. Service water requirement......................................................................................................................29 3.6. Processing water requirement.................................................................................................................30 3.7. Product fractions and value fractions of livestock products ...................................................................30 4. Virtual water content per livestock product per country............................................ 31 4.1. Virtual water content of a live animal by kind of animal and by country...............................................31 5 4.2. Virtual water content per livestock product by country..........................................................................32 5. International virtual water flows related to the trade in livestock and livestock products.......................................................................................................................... 35 5.1. International virtual water flows.............................................................................................................35 5.2. Inter-regional virtual water flows ...........................................................................................................39 5.2.1. Sources and sinks of virtual water................................................................................................39 5.2.2. Virtual water balance per world region .......................................................................................42 5.2.3. Gross virtual water flows between countries within regions ........................................................43 6. Global virtual water flows: the complete picture ........................................................ 45 6.1. International virtual water flows related to international trade in crops .................................................45 6.2. The complete picture ..............................................................................................................................47 6.3. National water footprints, water self-sufficiency and water dependency...............................................51 7. Conclusion...................................................................................................................... 53 References........................................................................................................................... 55 Appendices I. Symbols II. List of livestock products in PC-TAS III. Livestock products and their share of the global trade (1995-99) IV. Classification of livestock products based on animal category and their contribution to global trade V. Product tree per animal category VI. Product fraction, value fraction and processing water requirement per livestock product VII. Country grouping based on average annual gross national income per capita VIII. Average world market price per livestock product (1995-99) IX. Calculation of the virtual water content of live animals, example for Canada X. Virtual water content per kind of live animal by country XI. Virtual water content per type of livestock product by country XII. International virtual water flows by livestock product (1995-99) XIII. Gross virtual water export by country per year (1995-99) XIV. Gross virtual water import by country per year (1995-99) XV. Average annual net virtual water import by country (1995-99) XVI. Grouping of countries into thirteen world regions XVII. Gross virtual water flows between and within regions in the period 1995-99 XVIII. National water footprints, water scarcity, water self-sufficiency and water dependency (averages for the period 1995-99) XIX. Glossary 6 Summary The virtual water content of a commodity is the volume of water used to produce this commodity. International trade in food implies international flows of virtual water. For water-scarce countries it can be attractive to import virtual water (through import of water-intensive products), thus relieving the pressure on the domestic water resources. This study aims to develop a methodology to assess the virtual water content of various types of livestock and livestock products and to quantify the virtual water flows related to the international trade in livestock and its products. The results are then combined with the estimates of virtual water trade flows associated with international crop trade as reported in Hoekstra and Hung (2002, 2003), to get a comprehensive picture of the international virtual water flows. The study covers the period from 1995 to 1999. First, the virtual water content (m3/ton) of live animals is calculated, based on the virtual water content of their feed and the volumes of drinking and service water consumed during their lifetime. Second, the virtual water content is calculated for each livestock product, taking into account the product fraction (ton of product obtained per ton of live animal) and the value fraction (ratio of value of one product from an animal to the sum of the market values of all products from the animal). Finally, virtual water flows between nations are derived from statistics on international product trade and virtual water content per product. The global volume of international virtual water flows is estimated to be 1031 Gm3 per year (695 Gm3/yr from the trade in crops and 336 Gm3/yr from trade in livestock and livestock products). This means that about 20% of the global water use in agriculture is aimed at producing products for export. The countries with the largest net virtual water export are: the United States, Australia, Canada, Argentina and Thailand. The countries with the largest net virtual water