More foreign agricultural, food products enter Chinese market

Vietnamese vendors sell durians in Dongxing, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. (Xinhua/Hu Xingyu)

More and more types of agricultural and food products from foreign countries have been permitted to enter the Chinese market, providing Chinese consumers with more diverse choices.

Pork from the Netherlands, dried prunes and fresh blueberries from Serbia, and fresh cherries from Hungary have been allowed to be exported to China on the condition that they meet the country's quarantine and health requirements, according to a recent announcement by the General Administration of Customs (GAC).

China's expansion of imports of agricultural and food products has created more opportunities for foreign suppliers to enter the Chinese market.

"Serbia is one of Europe's largest blueberry producers. The blueberry harvest season in the country starts in June, at least two weeks earlier than other European countries," said Jelena Grubor Stefanovic, Director of the Representative Office of the Serbian Chamber of Commerce and Industry in China.

Serbian blueberries have been exported to over 20 countries, including the Netherlands, Russia, Germany, Poland, and the U.K., Stefanovic noted, adding that entering the Chinese market presents a new opportunity for the Serbian blueberry industry.

"The blueberry harvest season in Serbia is about to begin, and we are currently in trade negotiations with two Serbian fruit export companies, aiming to complete the first procurement order of fresh blueberries by the end of June," said Xue Yingjie, general manager of the Greenland Global Commodity Trading Hub Group. The group's first procurement order is worth nearly 15 million yuan ($2.07 million), and its yearly purchase value is expected to reach 250 million yuan.

Visitors shop during the eighth China-Russia Expo in Harbin, northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, on May 20, 2024. (Xinhua/Wang Jianwei)

Xue added that Serbian blueberries are of high quality, and will provide more choices for Chinese consumers after they enter the Chinese market.

Today, Chinese consumers can buy an array of foreign food on e-commerce platforms, including Australian steaks, Brazilian beef ribs, Spanish ham, Danish pork cracklins, Ecuadorian shrimps, and New Zealand green-lipped mussels. The list is getting longer.

On May 11, 2023, the GAC approved the import of qualified French pork. Last year, France's pork exports to China amounted to 260 million euros. China is the largest pork export market for France, according to French statistics.

Since the beginning of this year, the GAC has issued announcements allowing the import of pork and edible pork by-products from Russia, Austria, and the Netherlands.

Various countries are racing to export agricultural and food products to China, attracted by the potential and appeal of the nation's vast market.

For example, France is China's largest agricultural product import market and the second-largest agricultural product trading partner in the European Union, according to the GAC.

By mid-2023, over 200 types of French agricultural and food products were allowed to be exported to China. Nearly 7,000 French agricultural and food products companies have registered in the country.

Photo shows a container terminal of the Shanghai International Port Group in Jiujiang, east China's Jiangxi Province, on May 23, 2024. (Photo/Wei Dongsheng)

As Chinese residents continue to improve their consumption patterns, China maintains a growing demand for imports of quality products, presenting significant opportunities and growth prospects for enterprises from various countries.

In recent years, China has continued to expand its agricultural and food product market access and improve the inspection and quarantine process, GAC deputy head Wang Lingjun said during a recent press conference.

Wang added that China approved imports of 146 agricultural and food products from 51 countries and regions in 2023, allowing consumers to enjoy more delicacies from around the world.

A China that opens still wider to the outside world and maintains steady growth provides more market, investment, and cooperation opportunities to the world, Wang said.

According to the official, China will broaden the import of high-quality products to turn its enormous market into a market for the world.