Importing nations are being urged not to block Chinese farm produce
by using the rising threshold of standards as non-trade barriers.
Meanwhile, China is likely to import more grain than it did last
year following its entry to the World Trade Organization (WTO),
Chen Xiwen, vice-director of the State Council Development Research
Center, told a press conference yesterday in Beijing.
"China is striving to improve the quality and safety standards of
its agricultural products," he said on the sidelines of the annual
legislative session. "We hope when importing nations raise their
standards, they do so with the safety of consumers in mind, not to
block imports."
Chen was commenting on sluggish progress in the export of China's
labor-intensive agro-products, such as ornamental flowers and
fruits, following the country's accession to the WTO more than a
year ago.
Contrary to expectations, China's labor-intensive agriculture
benefited little from its membership of the Geneva-based trade
club, Chen said.
Minister of Agriculture Du Qinglin, speaking on the same occasion,
gave assurances concerning the safety of China's farm produce, as
well as the quality standards, which he attributed to the
ministry's increasingly stringent measures of quality control.
While China has made remarkable headway in this regard, a host of
importing countries have dramatically raised their quality and
safety standards on agricultural products. Sometimes the standards
have been manipulated up to 200 times stricter than before, he
said.
"This (practice) has effectively constituted a block for China to
export its labor-intensive products," he added.
Chen said China will continue to improve the quality of its farm
produce and safety parameters by relying on science and
technology.
An
action plan to promote production of pollutant-free agricultural
products will be implemented nationwide this year, following two
years of pilot schemes in cities including Beijing, Shanghai and
Shenzhen, Du revealed.
Chen said China imported more than 800,000 tons of grain, including
corn, potato and wheat last year, less than expected, while at the
same time it exported a record 11 million tons of grain.
The trade surplus is partly due to a small increase in harvests in
China, which boasts a huge inventory of grain and lower prices.
In
comparison, natural disasters which struck the world's leading
grain producers last year drove up global grain prices.
Chen said both China's huge grain inventory and low grain price
will not be long-term phenomena. Nor will the price hike in the
global grain market remain unchanged for long.
"The odds are always high that more grain from international
markets will enter China," he said.
(China Daily March 11, 2003)