China News Agency, Beijing, June 3 (Reporter Li Xiaoyu) An investigation report released by the Ministry of Commerce's Circulation Industry Promotion Center on the 3rd showed that the downward pressure on China's agricultural product exports was affected by the epidemic and the growth rate of meat imports accelerated.
According to the survey, in the early stage of the epidemic, factors such as delayed personnel resumption and restrictions in importing countries were superimposed, and agricultural product export delays or orders decreased, which had a greater impact on fruits, vegetables, and aquatic products. Exports of agricultural products such as the European Union and the United States have declined significantly. However, as the "Protocol" of China-ASEAN Free Trade Area was fully upgraded, the export of agricultural products to ASEAN increased against the trend.
Figure: Consumers buy pork. China News Service reporter Zhang Yunshe
The report shows that China imported 2.174 million tons of meat in the first quarter, a year-on-year increase of 85.6%. Among them, imported pork was 951,000 tons, an increase of 1.7 times; imported beef was 513,000 tons, an increase of 64.9%. With the gradual implementation of the first phase of China-US economic and trade agreement, imports of soybeans and pork from the United States have grown rapidly.
Under the epidemic, Chinese people's consumption habits of agricultural products have also changed. According to the report, as residents' awareness of epidemic prevention and control has increased, consumers are paying more attention to the safety and quality of agricultural products. Price is no longer a decisive factor, and sanitation and freshness have become the primary decision-making factors.
From the perspective of sales channels, the consumption of fresh e-commerce and community vegetable shops has surged. According to statistics, the number of daily active users of fresh food e-commerce in China is less than 8 million before the Spring Festival, and it quickly exceeded 12 million after the Spring Festival. The proportion of fresh food e-commerce channel sales increased to 33.1%, an increase of 17.6 percentage points. Young and middle-aged people are the main force of e-commerce consumption, with consumers aged 21-40 accounting for 66.6%. (Finish)