Why are agricultural product imports and exports growing against the trend?

In the first half of the year, Hunan's agricultural product imports and exports grew strongly by 10.3%, standing out with a rise against the market trend.

On August 2, a reporter learned from Changsha Customs that from January to June, the province's total import and export value of agricultural products was 4.14 billion yuan, of which exports were 2.90 billion yuan and imports were 1.24 billion yuan, both achieving growth.

Demonstration zones become the "major contributors" driving agricultural product exports

In the first half of the year, exports of most traditional agricultural products in the province grew to some extent. Statistics show that about 30% of the growth share of exported agricultural products was contributed by the province's 11 demonstration zones for the quality and safety of exported food and agricultural products.

"In Jianghua Yao Township, Hunan, there is a kind of Yaoshan snow pear. In the past, it was hard to sell even when sold by weight; now it is sold by the piece, and one costs more than 10 yuan yet is still in great demand. This is the effect of the local effort to build a demonstration zone for the quality and safety of exported food and agricultural products." Wang Xinwu, deputy director of the Hunan Entry-Exit Inspection and Quarantine Bureau, analyzed that as a major agricultural province, Hunan ranks among the top in the country in the output of grain, cotton, oilseeds and meat, but its export share is relatively low, mainly because the quality of agricultural products is not high, and the demonstration zones have solved this problem.

Through the construction of demonstration zones, the province's tea has passed as many as 475 stringent tests by the European Union, breaking through the technical barriers of the EU market; vegetables supplied to Hong Kong, China meet the requirements of Hong Kong, China's newly issued Pesticide Residues in Food Regulation, achieving zero official notifications. "The pass rate of the province's exported food and agricultural products has reached 99.98%, an increase of no small margin compared with before the demonstration zones were built," Wang Xinwu said.

"Zero tariffs" cause a surge in agricultural product imports

In the first half of the year, the province's imports of agricultural products increased by 43.4% year on year. Changsha Customs analyzed that this was mainly because China and ASEAN achieved "zero tariffs" on agricultural products, as well as the rapid improvement of residents' living standards.

According to the "Early Harvest" agreement signed between China and ASEAN, starting from January 1, 2016, all agricultural products under the China-ASEAN agreement achieved zero tariffs, greatly reducing import costs. Traditional competitive agricultural products from ASEAN countries and regions such as Thailand, Vietnam and Malaysia expanded rapidly in exports to China, and large quantities of tropical fruits, grains and other products entered the Hunan market. In the first half of the year, the province imported 460 million yuan of agricultural products from ASEAN, a surge of 3.8 times year on year, accounting for 37.2% of the province's total agricultural product import value. ASEAN leaped to become the province's largest source of agricultural product imports.

In addition, Hunan residents' demand for high-quality agricultural products is also growing rapidly. In the first half of the year, the province imported 380 million yuan of agricultural products from the EU, up 25% year on year, accounting for 30.7% of the province's total agricultural product import value.

Cultivating internationally competitive brands is crucial

Changsha Customs pointed out that in the first half of the year, the province's exports of agricultural products to ASEAN grew by 51.2%, but imports of agricultural products from ASEAN grew by 3.8 times; the value of agricultural products imported from and exported to the EU was comparable, but exports grew by 4.7% while imports grew by 25%. "The growth rate of our province's agricultural product exports is lower than that of imports. Our investigation found that competition in the province's fruit and grain markets has clearly intensified, and some agricultural enterprises have been greatly affected."

In response to this situation, Changsha Customs believes that our province should vigorously cultivate a group of key agricultural product enterprises, strongly encourage enterprises to develop deep processing of agricultural products, and increase the added value of agricultural products. "Cultivating a group of agricultural product export enterprises and brands with international competitiveness is crucial."

It is understood that at present, our province is further advancing the construction of demonstration zones for the quality and safety of exported food and agricultural products. "All major food and agricultural product production areas in the province will establish export quality and safety demonstration zones. By 2020, the number of proprietary brands of Hunan's exported food and agricultural products must exceed 30," Wang Xinwu said. Promoting agricultural product exports in this way is the most effective.