China to remove some import and export tariffs
BEIJING 24 Dec (ANA) - China plans to remove import and export tariffs in 2019 on a range of goods, including import taxes on alternative meals used in animal feed, to secure supplies of raw materials amid trade tensions with the United States and boosting outbound cargoes.
Import tariffs on so-called alternative meals, which include rapeseed meal, cotton meal, sunflower meal and palm meal, will be removed from Jan. 1, 2019, the finance ministry said in a statement on its website on Monday.
China’s trade war with the United States has unsettled the global soy market after China virtually stopped all imports of U.S. soybeans after the imposition of additional 25 percent tariffs in July.
While China has resumed some purchases of U.S. soybeans, the tariffs on the oilseed from America remain in place, and the removal of tariffs on alternative meals could help improve the reliability of supply of animal feed meal in China, analysts said.
“This is basically getting ready for a rainy day, as commercial purchases of U.S. soybeans haven’t kicked off and so far it’s been just the state-owned firms that have done the buying,” said Monica Tu, analyst with Shanghai JC Intelligence Co. Ltd.
“Though the volume of alternative meal imports is not that huge, they can substitute soy. (The tax removal) is basically offering end users more options,” Tu said.
The United States is the second-largest soybean supplier to China and that component of the trade between the countries was worth $ 12 billion (9.5 billion pounds) in 2017.
China brings in soybeans to crush into meal for animal feed and cooking oil. The country has the world’s largest pig herd.
Beijing had previously sought ways to cut protein levels in animal feed and import more alternative meals, to reduce its reliance on U.S. soybean shipments.
The most active rapeseed meal futures traded on Zhengzhou Commodity Exchange, for delivery in May CRSMK9, slid nearly 3 percent to 2,113 yuan (242 pounds) per tonne on the news.(ANA)
FA/ANA/24 December 2018------