Farm product imports decline in March

Imports of China’s agricultural products registered a sharp decline in March, the latest official data shows.

Wheat imports to China in March declined by 46 percent from a year earlier, while corn imports dropped by 50 percent, the Chinese General Administration of Customs said on April 22.

Meanwhile, soybean imports in the month also slumped by 20 percent from a year ago to 3.84 million metric tons, official data showed. About 3.31 million tons of the imported soybeans came from the United States, and the figure was 12.2 percent lower than it was the previous year.

During the first quarter, imports of wheat declined by 38 percent from last year, while corn imports fell by 41 percent. Soybean imports during this period also dropped by 13 percent from a year earlier, official data showed.