Today, China's General Administration of Customs released the latest import and export data, data show that from January to June this year, China's total grain imports fell sharply year-on-year.
Among them, the total import of cereals was 9.36 million tons, down 31.8% year-on-year, soybean imports were 38.26 million tons, down 14.7% year-on-year, and edible vegetable oil imports were 3.99 million tons, an increase of 44.1% year-on-year.
The total import volume of the three items was 51.63 million tons, down 16% from 61.39 million tons in the same period last year.
At the same time, in the first half of the year, under the background of China's destocking, China's rice export volume reached 1.47 million tons, nearly doubling year-on-year.
From the perspective of the domestic demand market, the impact of the epidemic is the main reason for the sharp decline in China's grain imports. Data show that at present, China's grain imports are mainly soybeans, corn and other feed-related commodities, and the impact of the epidemic in the aquaculture industry this year has led to a sharp decline in the use of feed grains such as soybean meal, corn and barley.
Data show that due to the current downturn in the domestic aquaculture industry, meat imports in China's agricultural product imports are increasing.
According to data released by the Thai International Trade Negotiation Department, the number of Thai meat exports such as chicken and pork to China in the first four months of 2019 increased by 1045% year-on-year.
In addition, the report from Brazil's "agronewsbrasil" on July 9 showed that from January to June 2019, China was the most important destination for Brazilian chicken exports, with trade volume increasing by 50% year-on-year.
However, due to the current tight domestic meat supply, pork prices in various places continue to rise, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs has recently issued a notice to combat and prevent the "fried pig" behavior, ensure the safety of pig breeding production, and maintain price stability.
In addition to the feed breeding market, the most eye-catching performance of China's grain in the international market this year is undoubtedly rice. At present, china has returned to the ranks of the world's most important rice exporters.
The data shows that as the main source of China's rice imports, China only imported more than 220,000 tons of rice from Vietnam in the first half of 2019, down nearly 74% compared with the same period in 2018.
In Thailand, from January to May, China not only imported 45% of rice from Thailand, but also seized part of the share of Thai rice in the African market.
Overall, with reference to the import and export data in the first half of the year and the current market environment, China's total grain imports are expected to decline for the second consecutive year this year. In 2018, China's grain imports totaled 115.55 million tons, a year-on-year decrease of 11.5%.