Import and export of agricultural products in 2014

Net grain imports increased by 38% compared with the same period last year. Sorghum barley imports soared on the basis of 13 million tons for two consecutive years in 2012 and 2013, and net grain imports reached 18.747 million tons in 2014, an increase of 40% over the same period last year. According to China's traditional definition and caliber of grain, the total amount of grain imports reached 100 million tons in 2014, including 71.4 million tons of soybeans, 19.52 million tons of grains and 8.67 million tons of potatoes (mainly dried cassava). If 5.41 million tons of corn distiller's grains are included in the grain category as corn products, the grain import volume will be 106 million tons.

Wheat imports are mainly for variety adjustment. Due to the high quality of domestic wheat and the decline in import demand in 2014, the import volume was 3.004 million tons, down 45.7% from the same period last year. The price gap between inside and outside corn widened, and the price difference once exceeded the 65 per cent range of non-quota tariffs, but due to the implementation of GM management and import-inventory matching sales and other regulatory measures, corn imports were 2.599 million tons, down 20.4 per cent from the same period last year. Rice imports continued to grow, with imports of 2.579 million tons, an increase of 13.6 percent over the same period last year. At the same time, as substitutes for corn, the import of sorghum and barley increased rapidly, totaling 11.19 million tons, an increase of 7.78 million tons over the same period last year, an increase of 2.3 times. With the increase of grain imports, the problem of insufficient grain storage capacity in China is prominent.

Soybean imports increased by another 10%, and rapeseed imports continued to increase sharply. On the basis of 63.375 million tons of imports last year, soybean imports increased by 8.5% over the same period last year, and soybean imports in 2014 increased by 12.7% to 71.399 million tons. Rapeseed imports were 5.081 million tons, an increase of 38.7 percent over the same period last year.

The growth of feed demand is the main factor driving the growth of imports of soybeans and rapeseed. 80% of the pressed soybeans are soybean meal for feed, and rapeseed meal is also an important feed raw material. Imports of edible vegetable oil in 2014 were 7.873 million tons, down 14.6% from the same period last year. The increased import oilseeds were converted into oil, and vegetable oil imports remained stable in 2014.

Cotton imports decreased but remained high since 2010, a large number of continuous imports of sugar, inventory overstocking, domestic prices fell, the internal and external price gap narrowed, import power weakened, but imports remained high. Sugar imports in 2014 were 3.486 million tons, down 23.3% from the same period last year. With the implementation of the target price policy for cotton in 2014, the decline in domestic market prices, coupled with high inventory pressure, led to a decline in cotton imports, down 40.7% from the same period last year, but remained high, importing 2.669 million tons. At the same time, cotton yarn imports are running at a high level, with imports of 2.01 million tons, down 4.2% from the same period last year.

Imports of livestock products increased by 10%, and imports of milk powder increased sharply due to an increase in domestic supply. Pork imports in 2014 were 564000 tons, down 3.3 percent from the same period last year; pig offal imports were 820000 tons, unchanged from the same period last year. Beef and mutton imports increased strongly in the first half of the year, while imports decreased in the second half of the year due to changes in the domestic market, which was basically the same as the previous year. Imports of beef were 298000 tons, up 1.3 percent over the same period last year; imports of mutton were 283000 tons, up 9.3 percent over the same period last year. Imports of milk powder continued to increase significantly, with imports of 1.054 million tons in 2014, 8.432 million tons of discounted fresh milk, an increase of 22.0 percent over the same period last year, and 320000 tons of fresh milk, an increase of 73.5 percent over the same period last year. Dairy imports have a great impact on the domestic industry.

Exports of superior agricultural products as a whole maintained rapid growth, but the export surplus of fruits decreased by 50%. In 2014, aquatic products exports totaled US $21.7 billion, an increase of 7.1% over the same period last year; imports reached US $9.19 billion, up 6.3% from the same period last year; and the surplus was US $12.51 billion, an increase of 7.6% over the same period last year. Vegetable exports totaled US $12.5 billion, up 7.9% from the same period last year, down 8.3% from the same period last year; imports were US $510 million, up 21.7% from the same period last year; and the trade surplus was US $11.99 billion, up 7.3% from the same period last year. Fruit exports totaled US $6.18 billion, down 2.3% from the same period last year; the trade surplus was US $1.06 billion, down 51.0% from the same period last year.