Exports of produce drop due to curbs

2008-3-26  From Shanghai Daily

SHANGHAI'S exports of primary agricultural products dipped 0.6 percent last year from a year earlier, the Shanghai Statistics Bureau said yesterday.

The weightage of exports in the city's overall agricultural produce fell to 6.8 percent last year from 7.4 percent in 2006.

"The outcome (of the drop) was partly due to policies to curb food exports in the later half of last year to support domestic supply amid surging consumer prices," said Jin Jiaying, an analyst with the bureau. "The figure only dropped slightly because the market has developed a few new areas to meet or create demand in the international market."

In Jin's view, it was an improved structure for export that Shanghai should stick to.

Last year, exports of vegetables and piglets dropped 13.6 percent and 29.1 percent respectively compared with the year earlier. Products such as eggs, garlic and pearls all posted big falls in exports.

In comparison, the exports of decorative plants increased 71.3 percent while decorative fishes like goldfish rose 4.6 times from 2006. They were mainly headed for countries in East and Southeast Asia, including Japan and Singapore.

China's exports face uncertainties this year against a possible recession in the United States and a stronger yuan which raises export costs.