Category: Analysis

On Thursday, China implemented an upgrade to the country’s free trade deal with New Zealand to eliminate tariffs on wood and paper products imported from New Zealand. As part of a 2021 agreement, dairy imports into China will be tariff-free from the start of 2024. While this week’s changes only affect forestry products, it provides… Continue reading China-New Zealand free trade agreement in charts

Domestic corn prices in China are expected to stay strong in the near future, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs (MARA) said on Friday. Lockdown measures in northern and northeastern China triggered by the latest spike of Covid cases have severely disrupted the flow of corn across the country. Corn stocks level at ports… Continue reading China corn prices to remain firm amid Covid restrictions

On Friday, China customs announced suspensions of three Brazilian and two Uruguayan beef exporters after detecting coronavirus on the external packaging of beef shipments. There were 50 announcements of exporters suspended back in 2020 due to coronavirus being detected on packages of imported food, with companies from Vietnam, Pakistan, India, and Vietnam being the most… Continue reading China suspends five South American beef exporters

As the military conflict in Ukraine enters its sixth week and the blockade of grain exports from Ukraine extends, the nerves of major grain importing countries remain rattled. This includes China. The Black Sea region has been a key supplier of feed grains such as wheat and corn to international buyers including China and Egypt.… Continue reading Ukraine war impact on China’s food supply limited, but domestic uncertainty remains: data

China’s largest state media outlet Xinhua called for a spring planting battle which urged all local governments to ensure both spring planting and proper epidemic prevention. The editorial said it is strictly forbidden for local governments to block roads at will. It also stated that local officials must not prevent agriculture transport equipment from entering… Continue reading Beijing tells local governments to not block farmers

China’s national reserve management company will continue to release soybean stocks this Thursday at the same pace as last week but in fewer provinces, according to the National Grain Trade Center. The 500,000 tons of national soybean reserves will be auctioned across six provinces this week as opposed to eight provinces last week. The total… Continue reading China soybean reserve auctions continue steadily

Shanghai continues to see record daily Covid infections even as the entire city remains in a hard lockdown. On March 27, it was announced that the east side of the city would go into lockdown from March 28 to April 1, while the west side of the city would go into lockdown from April 1… Continue reading Shanghai lockdown, logistics disruptions likely to extend

Cold-chain imports are under increasing pressure due to the current Covid outbreak in China. Officials believe that coronavirus transmission through cold-chain logistics poses a serious threat and supplies continue to be disrupted. On Friday, China Customs suspended three Ecuadorian companies, two Indian companies, and one Iranian company from shipping to China. On March 29, Customs… Continue reading Meat imports face disruption from stricter Covid rules

Sow herd size in China continued to drop in February this year as hog producers shed capacities amid negative margins. Total sow herd in the country dipped to 42.68 million tons as of the end of February, latest data from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs (MARA) showed. This is the lowest herd level… Continue reading China Feb. sow herd hits one-year low, margins deeply negative

Shares of publicly listed agriculture and food companies in China spiked on Thursday against the backdrop of stricter Covid measures across several regions in the country that have cause food supply shortages. The share price for Zhongnongfa Seed Industry Group (SHA: 600313) jumped nearly 9% intraday to hit a limit-up, followed by other companies in… Continue reading China ag equities spike as Covid lockdowns reignite fresh food security concerns