China’s Jan-May grain import jump to exert limited effect on domestic market
BEIJING, July 1 (Greenpost) — China’s grain imports in the first five months jumped by around 50 percent year on year, but that has limited effects on the domestic market, say analysts.
In the first five months of the year, China’s grain imports amounted to 12.5 million metric tons (tonnes), up 47.3 percent year on year, according to the data released by the Ministry of Agriculture (MOA).
In a breakdown, the country’s corn imports in January-May increased by 31.69 percent year on year to 1.778 million tonnes, while its wheat imports in the period fell 60.47 percent year on year to 966,000 tonnes. In May, the country’s wheat imports jumped by 63.01 percent year on year, the data showed.
Despite the rapid increase in grain imports, compared to the domestic output, the import amount was small. For example, China’s corn imports in 2014 accounted for only a hundredth of the homegrown corn output, which stood at 215.67 million tonnes last year. In addition, the tariff quota management system implemented for grain imports also limited the space for import increases, said analysts.
In 2014, China’s grain imports amounted to 19.516 million tonnes, nearly nine times those in 2003.