September 21, 2010

China's Shenyang watchful of new US agri office

The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) opened a new Agricultural Trade Office (ATO) in Shenyang city of Liaoning province Friday (Sep 17), the fifth office in China, putting the country's largest grain production area under slight discomfort.

Along with the other four located in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Chengdu, the new office established by ATO aims at promoting the US's agricultural, fishery and forestry-products in China's northeast.

Jim Miller, vice director of USDA, did not conceal the country's ambition in the region and said that the newly-inaugurated ATO marks USDA's expansion into the dynamic hub of Northeast China; and as one of its international trade hubs, Shenyang provides sufficient opportunities for exports of agricultural products.

The US has won positions in the global grain market via its absolute advantage in genetically modified (GM) foods; and once it consolidates GM grains on a large scale, local producers of the respective countries begin to gradually be squeezed out.

Li Xiaobo, trade expert from the Shenyang Agricultural University, said that once ATO opens, the GE products quickly pour in. Li also worries that once they occupy the market, not only will they hurt people's health, but also the area's agricultural industry and the interests of local farmers.

Ever since the US was granted open access to the Chinese market, its GM products, in no time, invaded the sector. According to data from last year, China imported 42.55 million tonnes of soy, 51.3% being from the US.

In March, some of the grain's processing factories in Heilongjiang province have been closed due to the low prices of the imported soy, sources said.