January 10, 2008

China grain exports to lessen in 2008

The scrapping of export rebates for 84 agricultural products in China, a move to ensure domestic supply, will reduce grain exports this year, industry analysts said.

In the first eleven months of 2007, China reported an impressive growth of 320 percent for its cereal exports.

The remarkable growth was attributed to price increases in world markets. The decrease in grain output worldwide, caused by unfavorable weather and growing demand from biofuel producers, led to continuous price hikes.

Yet with the current scrapping of export rebates for grain which were previously at 13 percent, the export growth this year would definitely be slow, according to analysts.