CHINA'S trade deficit in agricultural products rocketed 14.3 times from the year-earlier level to US$7.57 billion in the first five months of this year, Ministry of Agriculture sources said yesterday.
Foreign trade in agricultural products hit US$39.93 billion during the five months, a growth of 36.1 percent year on year. The total included US$16.18 billion in exports, up 12.2 percent, and US$23.75 billion worth of imports, a jump of 59.2 percent.
The five months saw the nation's net cereal exports decline drastically and its trade deficit in animal by-products increase rapidly.
Between January and May, China exported 1.19 million tons of cereals, down 76.6 percent from the year-earlier, but imported 911,000 tons, up 14.2 percent. The net exports totaled 276,000 tons, down 93.5 percent.
In the five months, US$1.65 billion worth of animal by-products were sold abroad, up 10 percent, while US$3.28 billion were imported, up 35.9 percent.
The trade gap was US$1.63 billion, up 78.6 percent.