China imports chili meals from India

China has opened its doors to the Indian-produced chili meal that meets its quarantine requirements. The imports must be in tandem with its sanitary and phytosanitary regulations. In order to avoid its dependence on few sources to meet its dietary needs, China is trying to diversify its import sources for farm products.

The ensuing China-US trade war and US’ unilateralism has propelled China to look for new import sources. According to the latest reports, while China’s agricultural product imports grew 14.1% year-on-year to US$ 416.37 billion in the first five months this year, its agricultural product imports from the US dropped 55.3% year-on-year. Meanwhile, according to China’s Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, its imports from Brazil, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, the EU and Australia increased. Its bilateral trade with India also grew 13.2 % year-on-year to US$ 95.54 billion in 2018, according to data released by China’s Commerce Ministry.