China saw a dramatic decline in sugar arrivals in July, due partly to over-supply at home, customs sources said on Monday.

According to the General Administration of Customs, China bought from abroad 548,000 tonnes of sugar in the first seven months of this year, down 20.6 percent from the same period of last year.

The arrivals were valued at US$210 million, down 1.8 percent.

China maintained sugar import of at least 100,000 tonnes on average for each of the three months from April to June. But the imports fell drastically to 22,000 tonnes in July, down 89 percent from the same month of last year, or 84.5 percent from the previous months.

Of the total imports in the first seven months, 63.7 percent, or 349,000 tonnes, were bought by state-owned enterprises, down 18.5 percent.

Cuba was the largest sugar supplier for China.

Between January and July, China bought 48.9 percent of its total sugar arrivals, or 268,000 tonnes, from Cuba, up 23.6 percent.

It is predicted that China's annual sugar production will reach 14.5 million tonnes this year, with areas sowing sugar crops up 10 percent for the 2007-2008 period.

(Xinhua News Agency October 27, 2008)