Japan quake brings opportunity to China's agriculture

Global Times, March 25, 2011

Shandong-based Anqiu Food Trade Company, which sells vegetables, fruits and wheat foods to Japan, was asked by its Japanese customers to temporarily suspend shipping, said Liu Haiyan, the company's president.

However, agricultural officials and experts believe the quake's impact on farm produce exports to Japan will turn positive once transportation is restored and residents return to their daily lives.

"It is more of an opportunity than a challenge to Chinese exporters," Guan Shaofei said.

The two disasters and ensuing nuclear leakage will hurt the country's food supply. The supply of fishery products will be especially weak as the disaster-hit northeastern regions were among Japan's major fishing areas.

Meanwhile, radioactive material far exceeding legal limits found in Japan's agricultural produce has spread fear in Japan and abroad.

Guan Shaofei said demand for Chinese freshwater fishery products may rise as the radiation scare continues, creating an opportunity for Chinese exporters.

Zou Shengyuan said the increase in both price and volume will be seen over the next two months.

The World Bank's chief economist Justin Yifu Lin said Monday that the March 11 earthquake and tsunami in Japan is expected to affect the world economy but the impact will be "short-lived."

Lin expressed optimism regarding the Japanese economy, saying Japan's imports will return to pre-quake levels in a year while its exports will rebound 80 percent.

Japan is China's third largest trade partner, largest source of imports and fifth largest destination of exports.

Bilateral trade volume stood at $297.8 billion last year, about 10 percent of China's total foreign trade, according to data from China's Ministry of Commerce.