Meanwhile, China is likely to import more grain than it did last year following its entry to the World Trade Organization (WTO), Chen Xiwen, vice-director of the State Council Development Research Center, told a press conference yesterday in Beijing.

"China is striving to improve the quality and safety standards of its agricultural products," he said on the sidelines of the annual legislative session. "We hope when importing nations raise their standards, they do so with the safety of consumers in mind, not to block imports."

Chen was commenting on sluggish progress in the export of China's labor-intensive agro-products, such as ornamental flowers and fruits, following the country's accession to the WTO more than a year ago.

Contrary to expectations, China's labor-intensive agriculture benefited little from its membership of the Geneva-based trade club, Chen said.

Minister of Agriculture Du Qinglin, speaking on the same occasion, gave assurances concerning the safety of China's farm produce, as well as the quality standards, which he attributed to the ministry's increasingly stringent measures of quality control.

While China has made remarkable headway in this regard, a host of importing countries have dramatically raised their quality and safety standards on agricultural products. Sometimes the standards have been manipulated up to 200 times stricter than before, he said.

"This (practice) has effectively constituted a block for China to export its labor-intensive products," he added.

Chen said China will continue to improve the quality of its farm produce and safety parameters by relying on science and technology.

An action plan to promote production of pollutant-free agricultural products will be implemented nationwide this year, following two years of pilot schemes in cities including Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen, Du revealed.

Chen said China imported more than 800,000 tons of grain, including corn, potato and wheat last year, less than expected, while at the same time it exported a record 11 million tons of grain.

The trade surplus is partly due to a small increase in harvests in China, which boasts a huge inventory of grain and lower prices.

In comparison, natural disasters which struck the world's leading grain producers last year drove up global grain prices.

Chen said both China's huge grain inventory and low grain price will not be long-term phenomena. Nor will the price hike in the global grain market remain unchanged for long.

"The odds are always high that more grain from international markets will enter China," he said.

(China Daily March 11, 2003)