Mapping water consumption patterns: temporal analysis of China's food sector at the city level

The scarcity of water poses a significant challenge to China's sustainable economic and social progress. Despite its pivotal role, the impact of the food industry's final demand on water consumption across regions and sectors through supply chains has been largely overlooked, particularly at the city level. This study establishes an environmentally extended multiregional input–output model to assess the water consumption of the food sector in 313 Chinese cities across 2012, 2015, and 2017. Our findings reveal a distinct distribution pattern of the food sector's water consumption, characterized by higher levels in the east and lower levels in the west, with developed cities generally exhibiting higher consumption. Notably, we observe that the food sector's virtual water predominantly flows to neighboring and developed cities, with the agricultural and wholesale and retail sectors being the primary beneficiaries of final demand. We also pinpoint hotspots and offer policy recommendations aimed at fostering the sustainable development of water resources at both the sectoral and city levels. These findings contribute to understanding the water scarcity driven by the food sector at the city level.