How much do you know about Shandong, a major agricultural trade province?

On September 10, 2021, the International Food Loss Reduction Conference was successfully held in Jinan, Shandong. At the same time, the "International Food Loss Reduction Conference Jinan Initiative" was issued at the same time, bringing the world's attention to Shandong. Shandong has always been a major agricultural province. In 2020, it became China's first province with a total agricultural output value of more than one trillion yuan. It is also a strong agricultural product export province, and its agricultural product export has been ranked top in the country for many years.

Agricultural exports have been the king in the country for 22 consecutive years

Shandong Province is located in North China, surrounded by the sea on three sides, and has the largest peninsula in China-the Shandong Peninsula. The natural climate is suitable for crop cultivation and is the province with the highest output value of agricultural products in our country. In 2020, the total output value of agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry and fishery in Shandong Province was 1,019.1 billion yuan, ranking first ; the planting area of crops is about 11 million hectares, and the total grain output was close to 55 million tons, ranking third in China. Shandong produces a rich variety of agricultural products. Yantai apples, Laiyang pears, Shouguang vegetables, Jinxiang garlic, Zhangqiu green onions, Rizhao green tea, Yellow River carp and Lijin saury are well-known throughout the country and even the world.

Shandong's agricultural exports have been ranked first in China for 22 consecutive years. In 2019, the import and export volume of Shandong's agricultural products averaged approximately US$19 billion, and exports were close to 1/4 of the country's total, ranking top; imports accounted for 13% of the country's total, ranking third. Affected by the new crown pneumonia epidemic, the value of exports and imports in 2020 both fell to US$10.5 billion and US$12 billion, respectively. The proportions was basically the same as the previous year, and the ranking remains unchanged. The epidemic has severely affected Shandong's agricultural trade, but compared with other domestic provinces, Shandong's agricultural exports still maintain a strong competitiveness.

Agricultural trade strength has global impact

Shandong is a well-deserved "vegetable basket" and "fruit basket", and the "fruit and vegetable base" in the world. In terms of trade varieties, Shandong mainly exports vegetables, fruits and aquatic products. Shandong’s vegetable exports in 2020 amounted to US$3.3 billion, close to 40% of China’s total vegetable exports, ranking first in the country; aquatic product exports of US$2.4 billion, close to 1/4 of our country’s aquatic product exports, second only to Fujian; fruit exports US$1 billion, slightly more than 1/4 of China’s total fruit exports, second only to Yunnan. Mainly imports soybeans, aquatic products and cotton. Soybean imports in 2020 exceeded 4 billion U.S. dollars, which is close to 1/5 of our country's total soybean imports, second only to Jiangsu; aquatic product imports were 1.7 billion U.S. dollars, which was close to 1/5 of China's total aquatic product imports, ranking first in the country; Cotton imports were 900 million U.S. dollars, more than half of China's total cotton imports.

From the perspective of agricultural products trading partners, Shandong’s main export markets are Japan, ASEAN, and the European Union. In 2020, Shandong’s exports to these countries were US$2.4 billion, US$2 billion and US$1.3 billion respectively, which totaled more than half of Shandong’s total agricultural exports that year; The sources of imports are Brazil, the United States, and ASEAN. Imports from the above-mentioned countries were US$3.4 billion, US$2 billion and US$900 million, and the total amounted to more than half of Shandong’s total agricultural imports that year.

International agricultural exhibitions came one after another

Shandong is one of the important windows of China's agricultural foreign trade. It has held many agricultural exhibitions with global influence, and has made great contributions to promoting the export of high-quality agricultural products and promoting the high-quality development of agricultural trade. According to statistics from China Agricultural Exhibition Network, the number of agricultural exhibitions held in Shandong in 2019 ranked fourth in the country, second only to Beijing, Shanghai and Guangdong. Take 2021 as an example, there will be many important agricultural exhibitions in Shandong before the end of the year. First, the 2021 Shandong (Anqiu) Export Agricultural Products Expo was held in Anqiu, Shandong from September 26 to 28, aiming to create a service platform for information exchange, market connection, and brand promotion of exported agricultural products, and to create a "Qilu model" for rural revitalization. . The second is that the 25th China International Fisheries Expo will be held in Qingdao from October 27 to 29. This is the world’s largest professional aquatic product exhibition and a weather vane for the development of the global aquatic industry. It will be hosted by the Agricultural Industry Branch of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade. It will be held in Qingdao for the 15th year. Third, the "International Agricultural Service Trade Conference" will be held in Weifang in mid-to-late November. The conference site will showcase the advanced practices of domestic and foreign industry "leading" companies, promote the concept of agricultural service trade, and create "bringing in" agricultural services. Promote the display and cooperation of agricultural service trade with the new platform of "going out".

Shandong, a big agricultural trade province, is worth looking forward to!