China's 2020 farm produce trade deficit expands in first five months

VCG

China's trade in agricultural products reported a deficit of 36.67 billion U.S. dollars in the first five months of 2020, up 20.6 percent year on year, official statistics show.

Farm produce imports increased by 8.8 percent year on year to 65.98 billion U.S. dollars, while exports fell 3 percent to 29.31 billion U.S. dollars, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs.

China's total farm produce trade volume rose by 4.9 percent year on year to 95.29 billion U.S. dollars during the January-May period.

In breakdown, imports of grains expanded by 18.1 percent year on year to 9.34 million tonnes in the period, while pork imports rose 1.6 times from the same period last year to 1.68 million tonnes.

Exports of fruits and vegetables both registered year-on-year growth, with fruit exports up 18.9 percent to 2.51 billion U.S. dollars and vegetable exports rising by 4.6 percent from last year.

Source(s): Xinhua News Agency