USA Agricultural Trade with China:
As a researcher and collaborator with Chinese agricultural institutes and related industries (as a China observer) for 20+ years, I feel it is important for Americans to know the facts on the importance of agricultural trade with China to make a valid decision on where they stand amidst all the confusion and political stump speeches made to appease some of their bases. As the famous quote goes ‘Knowledge is power, there is a lot we don’t know, there is a lot we know but we don’t share, knowledge that is not shared has no power’. My comments in this article are restricted only to agricultural trade between US and China.
Facts: (i) as the globalization of economy is here to stay, one cannot ignore the importance of inter dependency of countries of the world, particularly the second ranking economy of the world that is China with GDP value almost 60 percent of that of the US; (ii) any indication of US trade war with China is counterproductive to both countries; (iii) China is number one trading partner for agricultural export valued at $ 26 billion which is greater than the value of agricultural exports to Japan and European union combined. This accounts 30 percent of total US agricultural exports to top five destinations (China, Canada, Japan, Mexico, and European Union). The agricultural import from US accounts for 24 percent of all agricultural import by China; (iv) US export of agricultural products to China is valued almost 6-fold greater than that of agricultural import from China to US. With respect to agricultural trade US has maintained distinct trade surplus with China, unlike in many other sectors where US has trade deficit with China. This once again supports the importance of China as a major US partner for agricultural trade; (v) main agricultural products imported from US by China are oil and oilseeds (40%), cotton (13.4%), and grains and feeds (12%); (vi) US is a major exporter of animal feed to China, such as distiller grain (valued at $1.1 billion), a byproduct of ethanol production from corn grain which has limited economic value in the US; (vii) with China’s economic boom and changing food habits, China is becoming a growing market for high valve agricultural products such as alcoholic beverages, dairy products, bread, extracts of coffee and tea; (viii) USDA projections based on the rising income of Chinese people tied to changing food habits show that agricultural exports to China will continue to grow in the future. China will continue to be the major buyer of world cotton, since it will remain as the major manufacturer of textiles in the world.
In summary, trade barriers with China can have a major impacts on the US agricultural export market. Some would say we can always find an alternate market to make up for the loss of trade to one country. However, finding new trade partners in the emerging economy markets is time consuming and complicated which can have serious negative economic consequences during such transition. With acknowledgement to published information by the USDA – Economic Research Service, and Foreign Agricultural Service.
For details: Read my book: “Global Sustainable and Healthy Ecosystems, Climate and Food Systems”
Dr. Ashok Alva, [email protected], 509-430-5931
Retired: USDA-ARS, Research Leader, Prosser, WA; Professor, University of Florida