April 2, 2012

US agricultural products provide new market for Chinese consumers

Offering a potential new market for American corn, wine and other goods, China's fast-growing economy is helping to drive demand for US agricultural products, a US official said Friday (Mar 30).

Michael Scuse, an acting undersecretary at the USDA, said that while soy remains the biggest US agricultural export to China, other products could significantly expand sales.

Scuse was speaking at the end of a weeklong trade mission that brought 39 American agricultural businesses to Chengdu and Shanghai -- the USDA's biggest-ever overseas trade delegation.

China has 20% of the world's population but only 9% of the world's arable land. Rising incomes have greatly boosted meat consumption, driving demand for feed grains.

US exports to China last year exceeded US$103 billion, including US$14.7 billion in crops, the US China Business Council reported earlier this week. The bulk of those crop imports are soy but demand is growing for other crops, Scuse said.

"This past year, China got into the corn market in a much larger way," Scuse said. "So, now corn also is a major factor in our trade and we're looking hopefully to continue to expand in that area."

He said there is also Chinese interest in US dried distiller's grain, a product of ethanol production that is used for livestock feed.

At the same time, China's new middle class is buying more imported organic produce and luxury goods such as wine though tariffs remain high.

"We have a great possibility, even in spite of the tariffs, to increase our wine sales in China," said Scuse. "If you look at the economic conditions improving so much here ... we think there's tremendous opportunities."