Export Data News
- China's exports of agricultural produce hit new high
Date: 1-Feb-2007 Sources: (Xinhua Online)
In 2006, the export of Chinese farm products grew rapidly by overcoming the pressure from both foreign technical barriers and higher production costs. The annual farm products export hit 31.03 billion US dollars, a 14.1% increase over the previous year, setting a new record for Chinese farm products exported with 4 features:
Firstly, exports of competitive farm produce increased at a high rate, the export mix was further optimized and export earnings rose.
Horticultural, aquatic and marine products, as well as other advanced farm products were exported at a high rate and increased China's export volume tremendously during this period.
In the first 11 months of 2006, the export of Chinese gardening products reached 7.91 billion U.S. dollars, up 21.5% over the previous year. Aquatic and marine product exports rose to 8.05 billion U.S. dollars, a 19.5 % increase. The two types of advanced agricultural commodities achieved 15.96 billion U.S. dollars, accounting for 57.4 percent of the total exports from China. The net result showed 2.8 billion U.S. dollars more than the previous year, pushing up agricultural exports by ten percentage points.
Deep-processed agricultural products took up the greatest amount of the export commodity structure, and were still optimized over 2005. From January to November, primary and deep-processed agricultural products reached 14.36 and 13.44 billion U.S. dollars, respectively, up 6.7 and 23.1 percent respectively, from the totals for 2005. These combined exports made up 48.3 percent of the total agriculture products, thus raising the growth by 3.5 percentage points.
Export volumes and profit continued to go up; and the benefits were greatly improved. In the first three quarters of 2006, the production price index of Chinese agricultural products decreased by 0.27% points. In addition, the agriculture export price index increased by 4.7 percentage points over the first 11 months. There were eight major export commodities including: garlic, apples, apple juice and mushrooms, which posted a price rise of more than 20 percent.
Secondly, the Western market was increased at a fast pace. With the decline of the Japanese market, the entire China export market needed to be diversified.
With inclusion of gardening, aquatic and marine products, the Westerm market grew rapidly. From January through November in 2006, the China gross export to the U.S. totaled 3.38 billion U.S. dollars, an increase of 34.1%. In comparison, exports to EU came to 39.2 billion dollars, a 25.4% increase over the previous year.
As a result of the 'Positive List System', Chinese exports to Japan dropped significantly. In the first 11 months of 2006, Chinese agricultural products exported to Japan hit 7.45 billion US dollars, a 3.7 percent increase, down from 9.4 percent in 2005.
A burgeoning and robust market emerged, making it necessary for China's exports to be more diversified. From January to November, China's exports to west Asia, Latin America, and Russia accounted for over a 20% amplitude increase. The exports accounted for 19.4 percent of the total Chinese gross export business, one percentage point higher than the '10th Five-Year Plan' period.
Thirdly, major export provinces and cities reported steady development, with seven of them accounting for 70 percent of the country's gross export. Several other central and western provinces and cities also expanded their export markets at a high rate.
During the first 11 months of 2006, the province-level areas of Shandong, Guangdong, Zhejiang, Fujian, Liaoning, Jiansu and Beijing each exported over 1 billion US dollars, taking up 71.3% of the agricultural products gross export. Jiangsu, Fujian and Shandong's export value increased by 32.3%, 23.0% and 17%,respectively.
Fourthly, private enterprises became the new growth targets for exports. This activated management entities into leading agricultural products for export enterprises.
From January to November, private enterprises hit 8.37 billion US dollars in terms of exports; up by 40.8 % over the previous year. Farm products gross export was raised by 10 percentage points.
In 2006, Chinese agricultural products overcame some disadvantages. More rigorous foreign technical barriers and continuous rising production costs impeded success. Profits came from three areas. Firs, the Ministry of Commerce and other departments implemented a series of policies and measures to improve agricultural productivity; second, every region sped up the transformation of foreign trade growth, to promote the agriculture export business; third, export enterprises boosted their international competitive edge to break down foreign trade barriers. Safety standards were implemented, resulting in higher quality.
At present, China exports still face challenges from long-term foreign technical barriers. Over the past two years, Japan, Europe and U.S. have all accelerated their procedures in food security legislation; continuing unfair competition in international products trading is expected to exist for a long time to come. Because of China's low agricultural products processing level, low ability to innovate in technology and lack of brand products, half of its agriculture products for export are primary products only. It is believed that research on new breeding and the ability to increase technical innovation should be further strengthened to meet the diverse demands of the international market.
In 2007, the Ministry of Commerce will continue to heed the issue of rural areas, farmers, and agriculture. It will spare no effort to formulate innovative policies to enhance international competitive edge of China's agriculture products. It will redouble efforts to adjust the country's agriculture structure, boost modern agriculture construction and increas farmer's income for years.
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