China's Ministry of Agriculture said on Wednesday that 94.7 percent of vegetables tested in 37 Chinese cities met internationally required levels of pesticide residue.

The ministry's latest research on the quality of national agricultural products shows that 99.2 percent of aquatic products tested in eight cities proved free of chloramphenicol, an antibiotic that is also banned in some countries.

Zhang Yuxiang, director of the ministry's Market and Economic Information Department, said the proportion of vegetables that meet standards in Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai and Shenzhen cities has increased by 29 percentage points since 2001, while the proportion of livestock that meet residue standards in the four cities was up 33 percentage points.

"Generally speaking, China's agricultural products are good and safe to eat," said Zhang,

China started regular testing of agricultural products in 2001. Currently, the ministry makes five monitoring and supervision tests each year on vegetables in 37 cities, livestock products in 22 cities and aquatic products in eight cities.

China is facing international challenges over its agricultural products that have too much chemical residue. In May, Japan imposed stringent new requirements on allowable chemical residue on China's farm produce exports.

(Xinhua News Agency July 6, 2006)