USDA Report: China’s Import Potential for Beef, Corn, Pork, and Wheat

China’s agricultural imports grew dramatically over the past two decades, and China became the largest importer in the world. Nevertheless, market access for some agricultural products was hindered by tariffs and nontariff measures.

A report issued today by ERS, China’s Import Potential for Beef, Corn, Pork, and Wheat, develops a methodological framework to assess China’s import potential for agricultural products.

Here are a few key findings from the report:

• China’s beef prices were about 80–90 percent higher than U.S. imported beef prices in 2020 despite rapid growth in imports.
• Even with China’s record-level corn imports in 2020, the country’s domestic prices were still 60 percent above average imported U.S. corn prices.
• The margin between China’s and imported U.S. pork prices soared to 200–300 percent of U.S. prices, due largely to a disease-driven reduction in China’s domestic pork supplies in 2020.
• China’s wheat prices were about 40 percent higher than the average price of imported U.S. wheat in 2020.

To learn more, please refer to the full report.