August 3, 2006

China's farm produce exports slow substantially

Exports of China's agricultural products slowed in the first half, and agricultural trade deficit expanded, according to the latest statistics from the Ministry of Commerce.

The slowdown was expected to continue as technical barriers, such as the Positive List System introduced by Japan which imposed much stricter standards on residues in agricultural products remain in place, said the ministry.

Figures from Chinese customs show that in the first half, agricultural exports reached US$14.1 billion, with the growth rate dropping from 22.5 percent in the same period last year to 9.3 percent.

Meanwhile, imports of farm produce climbed 21.6 percent to US$16.2 billion, leading to a deficit of 2.15 billion US dollars.

According to the Ministry of Commerce, technical barriers, especially the Positive List System, resulted in a fall in agricultural exports to Japan.

Fear of animal diseases such as bird flu and food-and-mouth diseases brought down exports of poultry and livestock products.

China's imports of agricultural products were also predicted to slow in the second half, mainly due to domestic supply increases of grain, sugar and other major agricultural products.