BEIJING, CHINA — China’s imports of feed grains such as sorghum and barley fell dramatically in December, according to Reuters.
China, previously the world’s top sorghum buyer, bought none of the grain in December, compared with 160,000 tonnes a year earlier, according to Reuters, citing data from the General Administration of Customs.
Beijing slapped a 25% duty on sorghum imports from the United States on July 6, in retaliation over similar trade measures taken by the United States.
The United States is the world’s top exporter of the grain and accounted for 94% of China’s imports in 2017. China’s imports for 2018 fell to 3.65 million tonnes, down 27.8% on the year.
Imports of barley, used in both brewing and animal feed, fell to 140,000 tonnes in December, down 75.4% from the same month of 2017, according to Reuters.