China agricultural product trade monitoring and analysis, January, 2016

By CnAgri2017-03-13 09:48:39 Print

Customs data show that China’s imports and exports of agricultural products in January 2017 increased year on year, especially imports ascended obviously. Along with an increase in year-on-year imports and export, trade deficit declined significantly.

1) General situation of agricultural product imports and exports: China’s total import value of agricultural products in January was 10.16 billion dollars, up 14.1% year on year and accounting for 7.73% (ranking third after petroleum and ore products) of the total. Export value recorded 6.47 billion dollars, up 3.2% year on year and accounting for 3.5% of the total. Trade deficit of agricultural products reached 3.69 billion dollars, up 40.16% year on year and taking up 2.0% in the total imports of commodities. Of which, import value of grain, meat, dry and fresh fruit, sugar and animal food products reached 7.5 billion dollars, up 21.21% year on year and accounting for 73.8% (4.3 percentage points higher than last year) of the total imports of all agricultural products; the imports stood at 13.09 million MT, 0.2373 million MT higher than last year.

2) Grain import: In January, import value of grain, tuber and bean reached 3.97 billion dollars, up 4.0% year on year and accounting for 39.7% of the total of agricultural products for that month. Grain imports stood at 10.42 million MT, up 26.5% month on month; import prices saw a seven-consecutive-month increase and ascended to USD381 /MT, up 8.1% year on year. A great drop in the same period of last year brought a rebound in imports of this year.

Analysis of Grain Import by Varieties: in January, cereal and its powder imports recorded 2 million MT, up 8.70%; soybean imports registered 7.66 million MT, up 35.3% year on year; other grain imports stood at 0.76 million MT, up 2.7%.

Import value of cereal and its power, soybean, and other grain reached 477 million dollars, 3.327 billion dollars and 150 million dollars, respectively down 12.90%, up 51.6% and up 1.6% year on year.

Cereal and its powder import prices averaged USD 238/MT, USD 6.55/MT less than last year. Soybean import prices stood at USD 434/MT, up 15.10% year on year. Other grain import prices registered USD 214/MT, down 1.1% year on year. Among other grain varieties, dry tapioca imports recorded 0.594 million MT, down 6.85% year on year; import value stood at 110 million dollars, down 1.58% year on year; import prices reached USD 184/MT, down 5.36%. Tapioca prices maintained at a low level, mainly influenced by a great drop in domestic corn prices.

3 Export aspect: in January, grain exports reached 0.19 million MT, up 58.33% year on year; export value stood at 141 million dollars, up 16.91% year on year; export prices averaged USD 744/MT, down 26.16%. Grain marketization and RMB devaluation improve China’s grain competitiveness on the international market.

In January, cereal and its powder exports were 110,000 MT, and export prices reached USD 426/MT; tuber exports stood at 20,000 MT, and export prices were USD 1,030/MT; bean export totaled 60,000 MT, and export prices registered USD 1,231/MT. Among beans, non-GMO soybean with the highest output is a kind of bean whose output is biggest in China. Bean exports were 12,400 MT, accounting for a relatively small proportion.

BOABC’s analysts think: only according to the requirements of marketization and industrialization, all-round service involving in soybean breeding, planting, processing and distribution can efficiently boost the development of soybean sector and will make China be in a good position on the international market. Northeast has certain scale advantage, which can totally achieve industrialization operation of soybean. Along with improving old-age security system for farmers, northeastern agricultural products can be available on the international market in large quantities, becoming the important driving force to economic development and the key to boost northeastern economics.

A great deal of imports of grain, cotton, oil, sugar and animal food increased the supply in the domestic, cutting down domestic prices, especially bringing relatively obvious influence on the prices of meat and milk. A continuous drop in self-sufficiency should be paid more attention to.