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Business News/ Politics / News/  China posts bigger farm trade deficit in 2011
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China posts bigger farm trade deficit in 2011

China posts bigger farm trade deficit in 2011

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Beijing: China boosted imports of agricultural products last year, with the farm trade deficit rising 47.4% from 2010 as the country’s own production fell short of demand in the world’s second-largest economy.

China imported $94.87 billion worth of farm products in the whole year of 2011, with a trade deficit of $34.12 billion, the agriculture ministry said.

Imports of grains, cotton, sugar as well as livestock products all increased.

China’s rising demand after the country’s move to urbanisation coupled with limited farmland could prompt the country to become the world’s largest importer of farm products in coming years, a government researcher said.

China has topped Canada to become the No.1 market for US farm products for the first time in 2011, according to the US Department of Agriculture.

China’s imports of livestock products, including also meat, were worth $13.4 billion, up 38.8% on year, giving a trade deficit of $7.41 billion, up 50.9% on year, according to the ministry’s report (www.agri.gov.cn).

Imports of rice, corn as well as wheat have also increased in 2011 from 2010, it said.

China’s rising imports are largely because Beijing was building up its state reserves of sugar, corn and meat as part of efforts to cool food inflation while the world’s top cotton consumer was also building up its depleted state reserves, analysts said.

China, the world’s top soy importer, has reduced imports of soybean and rapeseed as well as edible oils in 2011, which analysts attributed to Beijing’s large release of state reserves.

China posted a surplus in trade of vegetables, fruits and fish products in 2011 as compared with 2010, said the ministry.

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Published: 06 Feb 2012, 03:21 PM IST
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