November 6, 2010

China seen to import record US agricultural goods

China is set to import a record volume of US agricultural products this year, the US Grains Council said Friday (Nov 5).

However, the Chinese government's concern with maintaining basic self-sufficiency in food is a challenge for the local agricultural and industrial development.

In the first nine months of the year, China has imported from the US more than 2.5 million tonnes of distiller's dried grains with solubles (DDGS) and 1.4 million tonnes of corn, clearing a record US$1 billion in US corn and co-product exports, the council said in e-mailed remarks from its interview with USGC China director Kevin Latner.

Asked about barriers to trade, Latner said China's continued concern over its food security was the most striking challenge in the Chinese market.

"Years of inadequate food supplies have ingrained a view of food self-sufficiency as a necessity for national security, affecting China's agricultural and industrial development programmes," Latner said, adding that there is limited local knowledge about US corn and DDGS, product information and handling, contract handling and product use.