China’s wheat imports are booming, but one top supplier is missing out: Russia.
The Asian nation is on track to be the largest buyer of the food staple this season, and Russia is the biggest exporter. While Beijing said last year that it would allow imports from all parts of Russia, trade has been hampered by a slew of issues, including phytosanitary regulations and transport challenges.
The future of wheat and meat shipments is likely to feature on the agenda when Russian government officials and executives attend a business forum in China this week, according to Agriculture Minister Dmitry Patrushev.
There is work to do. China has been buying a lot of wheat, with total imports surging more than 60% from a year earlier to about 6 million tons in the first four months of the year. Of that, Russia supplied just a trickle — 30,000 tons.
Wheat is an exception in China’s buying spree from Russia. Beijing’s purchases of energy and aluminum have soared as sanctions cut supplies to the West.
