China's agriculture trade deficit down, but imported grain volumes on the rise

China’s agricultural imports are in disarray despite year-on-year trade deficit in agricultural products shrinking 20% in the first half of 2015, with the actual volume of imported agricultural commodities up 10% for the same period, Dim Sums reported, citing a report from the Ministry of Agriculture. Soybeans accounted for nearly half of the 64 million metric tons (mmt) of agricultural commodity imports, up 2.8% year-on-year, though their value declined 20%. But imported corn and corn substitutes totaled nearly 16 mmt, accounting for the second-biggest chunk: 2.7 mmt of corn, 5.4 mmt of barley, 5.4 mmt of sorghum and 2.4 mmt of distillers dried grains. For more on China’s grain policies, see CER’s in-depth report.