China is importing a lot of wheat, with total imports up more than 60% from a year earlier to about 6 million tons in the first four months of the year. Of this, Russia supplied only a tiny fraction – 30 thousand tons
Despite Moscow’s appeals and hopes, China has refused to buy Russian grain, writes the Bloomberg business publication.
At present, wheat imports to China are booming, but this is not the case with Russia. The Asian country is on track to become the largest buyer of the staple this season.
Despite the fact that Russia could potentially become the largest exporter of agricultural products to China, Beijing decided to abandon this partnership.
While Beijing said last year that it would allow imports from all parts of Russia, a number of issues, including phytosanitary regulations and transportation problems, have hampered trade.
According to Russian Agriculture Minister Dmitry Patrushev, future wheat and meat supplies are likely to be on the agenda when Russian officials and executives attend a business forum in China.
Wheat is an exception in the trade between China and Russia. Beijing’s purchases of energy and aluminum have increased sharply due to sanctions that have reduced Russian supplies to the West.
As a reminder, China regained the first position in the ranking of major importers, having imported $986 million worth of Ukrainian food.
Currently, sunflower prices in Ukraine vary significantly depending on the region, delivery terms, oil content and batch size. The prices are trending upward, which will be supported by China’s request to purchase a large batch of Ukrainian sunflower oil.