China Manufacturing N Quality Control Blog

The imported food products covered in the white paper include fruits and vegetables, meat, poultry and eggs, aquatic products, cold drinks and frozen products, milk and dairy products, cooked food and bakery products, non-staple food of cereals and oils, casual snacks, drinks and beverages, and baby food. Among the surveyed consumers, 57.5 percent of the total food consumption accounted for more than 10 percent of imported food, up nearly 5 percent year-on-year.

With the upgrading of the supply chain, the categories and sources of imported food are becoming more and more diverse, and more and more countries and regions’ delicacies are serving on the tables of Chinese residents. From 1997 to 2017, China increased its food imports from 108 countries and regions to 170, covering 73.9% of the world’s countries and regions.

With the continuous development of the domestic food e-commerce industry, the operation mode of the online platform represented by cofco has become increasingly mature, and the supply chain has been upgraded from source to circulation in an all-round way, helping more high-quality imported food reach the table of Chinese consumers.

The amount of US agricultural products imported by China in the first five months “halved” comparing with same period last year
China’s imports of agricultural products from Brazil, Asean, the European Union, Australia and Canada maintained rapid growth from January to May, while imports of agricultural products from the United States continued to decline rapidly, data from Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs showed Thursday.The amount of agricultural products imported from Brazil rose 20.7% to 76.19 billion yuan from 63.12 billion yuan in the same period last year.imports of US agricultural products fell 55.3% to 32.73 billion yuan from 73.22 billion yuan a year earlier. Soybean imports from January-May totaled 31.751 million tons, down 12.2% year on year, of which 4.309 million tons were imported from the United States from January to April, down 70.6% year on year.The import of pork, beef and mutton increased from January to May, totaling 1.405 million tons.

The main categories of overseas buyers include children’s educational toys, outdoor riding toys, remote control toys, building blocks toys, stress relief toys, IP tide toys, etc., covering the age range of 0-6 months, 3-6 years old, 10-18 years old, 20-40 years old, etc.

Remote control, building block toys

Remote control and building block toys have always been hot sellers. After years of deep cultivation in the market, a number of experienced players of remote control and building block toys have emerged among overseas buyers.

Educational toys for babies and children

Low-age toys have always been in demand in the market. Since the epidemic in 2020, social anxiety has accumulated and anxiety about the future has accelerated the market demand for educational toys.

Building block Toys (science and technology pieces/wooden blocks/Street View/architecture/large particle blocks/wooden table/magnetic chips, etc.)

Since July 1 last year, the General Administration of Customs has achieved remarkable results in the “cross-border e-commerce B2B Regulatory reform pilot project”. According to preliminary customs statistics, China’s cross-border e-commerce import and export maintained a good development trend in the first half of the year, with the total import and export volume reaching 886.7 billion yuan, up 28.6% year on year. Exports totaled 603.6 billion yuan, up 44.1% year on year. Imports reached 283.1 billion yuan, up 4.6% year on year.

For the same distance, its transportation speed determines its price, so the price of sea transportation is less than that of land transportation and less than that of air transportation.

The advantages and disadvantages of each channel are as follows:

International Shipping:

Advantages: the volume of ocean transportation is large, the cost of ocean transportation is low, the waterway is accessible in all directions, which is its advantage.

Disadvantages: but the speed is slow, the sailing risk is big, the sailing date is not easy to be accurate, is its inadequacy.

International land transport:

Disadvantages: the speed is slower than air freight, the risk is high, the situation in the road is not easy to grasp, the cost is higher than sea freight.

Advantages: transportation of goods with small limitations, almost all kinds of goods can be transported. The operation is relatively simple.

International air freight:

Disadvantages: high price, small amount of goods transported, packaging should not be too big, the type of goods limited

Advantages: fast speed, easy to pick up goods

Suitable for high value, small volume, less quantity, high speed requirements of goods.

 

On August 26, tianjin port bonded area management committee and China petrochemical sales co., LTD., tianjin branch, light path (Shanghai) Internet science and technology co., LTD. Signed a cooperation agreement, the airport investment service center to form hydrogen energy (tianjin) co., LTD., sinopec play to all parties in the industry, resource, scene and policy aspects of the comprehensive advantages, combination, We will further promote the development and application of hydrogen energy, and help achieve the goal of “carbon peak and carbon neutral”.

Hydrogen energy, as an important solution for decarbonization, plays an important role in helping to achieve the goal of “carbon peak and carbon neutral”. Tianjin Port Free Trade Zone is a cluster area where Tianjin focuses on the layout and development of hydrogen energy industry. In the past two years, the bonded zone has accelerated the layout of hydrogen production and hydrogenation infrastructure, registered a number of core component projects, made breakthroughs in the application of hydrogen fuel cell forklifts and heavy trucks, and initially formed a hydrogen energy industry chain. Recently, the beijing-Tianjin-Hebei National Fuel cell vehicle demonstration city cluster declared by the bonded area on behalf of Binhai New Area was officially approved, which creates favorable policy conditions for the accelerated development of regional hydrogen energy industry.

Sinopec is one of the world’s top 500 enterprises. Aiming to become the world’s leading clean energy enterprise, the group carries out the layout of the whole industry chain in hydrogen energy. Sinopec Tianjin Petroleum Company is the largest refueling and filling station operator in Tianjin. The comprehensive energy station of oil, gas, hydrogen, electricity and service led by the company will be started in the near future, and will become the first commercial hydrogenation station in Tianjin after completion.

LSC (Shanghai) Internet of Things Technology Co., Ltd. is a company committed to providing hydrogen energy application solutions and integrating resources to build hydrogen energy industry ecological chain. LSC is currently the largest commercial hydrogen fuel cell vehicle operator in China. Previously, it has carried out extensive cooperation with Sinopec in Shanghai, Beijing and other places on the demonstration application and promotion of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles.

It is understood that this contract project subject – sinopec hydrogen energy (tianjin) co., LTD., will be the key to develop hydrogen fuel-cell vehicle demonstration operation, filling station construction operations, to create “car – standing – scene” linkage operation mode, through to end customers with competitive hydrogen vehicles service capacity, drive the continued healthy development of the whole industrial chain. Based on Sinopec Hydrogen Energy (Tianjin) Co., LTD., the BONDED zone will further deepen cooperation with Sinopec in the field of hydrogen energy and new energy, gather high-quality project resources, further promote the aggregation of “1+3+4” industrial elements, provide effective support for the national strategy of coordinated development of Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, and make contributions to the implementation of the “dual carbon” goal.

According to the 14th Five-year Plan of Tianjin Scientific and Technological Innovation, we should make great efforts to develop hydrogen energy around the goal of “carbon peak and carbon neutral”. Hydrogen industry is one of the four future industrial clusters that will be cultivated and developed by independent innovation during the “14th Five-year Plan” of Tianjin Port Bonded Area. The bonded area will adhere to government guidance, market operation, scientific layout and coordinated development, firmly grasp the opportunity of hydrogen technology development and energy structure reform, and guide and support by policy. Further strengthen filling stations and other involved hydrogen infrastructure development, expand the hydrogen fuel cell demonstration application scenarios, and to fuel cell research and development, key components manufacturing and vehicle integration as the core, to speed up the industrial layout, form the industry cluster competitive hydrogen, promote the development of the hydrogen industry with high quality, building the leading domestic, the hydrogen industry highlands with international influence.

Over the past year since the “General Plan for the Construction of Hainan Free Trade Port” was published, the “zero-tariff” list of raw materials, transportation vehicles, yachts and self-use production equipment has been implemented. According to haikou Customs statistics, by the end of July, the value of imported goods under the “zero tariff” policy reached 2.69 billion yuan, and the tax exemption for enterprises reached 462 million yuan. The products enjoyed include ships, yachts, automobiles, airplanes, production materials and production equipment.

 

In order to promote the free trade and investment facilitation of Hainan free trade port, Hainan implements the tax system of “zero tariff” as the basic feature of goods trade, and exempts import duties, import value-added tax and consumption tax for goods and articles under the list management. Enterprises in line with the preferential treatment conditions through China (Hainan) international trade “single window” Hainan feature application “zero tariff” special area for the qualification audit of the preferential treatment subjects, and then through the information system to complete the multi-department joint audit. The goods that pass the scope of enterprise import list can enjoy “zero tariff” goods import.

As of August 25, a total of 3,037 trains and 291,186 teUs (teUs) of goods have passed through Manzhouli and Suifenhe ports, the eastern passage of China-Europe freight trains, up 35.5% and 44.6% year on year respectively, China Railway Harbin Bureau Group Co., LTD announced Monday.

Since 2013, the first China-Europe freight train service through Manzhouli port has shown a trend of sustained and rapid growth, and has now exceeded the 10,000-train mark. Since the beginning of this year, Manzhouli Station has operated more than 300 China-Europe freight trains every month for five consecutive months, breaking the 2,000 train mark 45 days earlier than the same period last year.

Suifenhe port, the largest port to Russia in Heilongjiang Province, set a record of 61 china-Europe freight trains in a single month in July this year, achieving double-digit year-on-year growth for 15 consecutive months and exceeding 300 trains for the first time this year.

It is worth noting that since the beginning of this year, 58 China-Europe freight trains have started from Heilongjiang Province, up 61% year on year. Goods exported to Russia, Poland, Germany, Czech Republic, Belgium and other countries accounted for 50.5% of local goods, with a value of 188 million US dollars, up 66.2% year on year.

Since the beginning of this year, 100 percent of china-Europe freight trains have returned via the Manzhouli and Suifenhe railway ports, and 52 inbound and outbound china-Europe freight trains have reached 13 European countries, mainly in the southeastern coastal areas of China, and covering 60 cities including Tianjin, Changsha, Guangzhou and Suzhou.

Sheet metal, kraft paper and candy from Russia and hardware and auto parts from Poland have been operated in a row, driving the rapid development of the return train. In addition to traditional goods such as raw materials and agricultural products, more and more food, consumer goods and cross-border e-commerce goods are transported by return train.

Data showed that the China-Europe freight trains entering and leaving China through Manzhouli Station ran 2,714 trains and sent 262,010 teUs of goods, up 27% and 36.3% year-on-year respectively. The China-Europe freight trains entering and leaving Suifenhe Station ran 323 trains and delivered 29,176 teUs of goods, up 207.6% and 218.7% year on year respectively.

The number of freight trains in operation has reached a new record high, showing a trend of sustained and rapid growth, and actively serving as a bridge for mutual benefit of countries along the belt and Road.

We used to joke that our country was an infrastructure freak, building railroads, Bridges, buildings, etc., all of which were built on steel, and high demand for steel meant high demand for iron ore. However, it is regrettable that China is not a country rich in iron ore reserves, although China’s iron ore reserves ranked fourth in the world, but because China has a large population, so the average number of iron ore per person is not much. In addition, China’s iron ore quality is relatively poor, and most of the 300, 400 meters deep underground, so that the mining cost is high. Because of this, China is heavily dependent on imported iron ore, which accounts for about 90% of its output, 69% of which is from Australia and 19.7% from Brazil. Due to rely heavily on iron ore, and rely heavily on Australian iron ore, lead to the way foreign break through for iron ore chock the lifeblood of our country iron and steel industry (of course, the abroad is also a kind of loss, after all, they couldn’t find another like internationally in countries with high demand for iron ore in China). In this case, why don’t we vigorously develop waste steel recycling, but to import iron ore from abroad?

Why not recycle old steel?

In fact, our country has always been recycling old steel, but our country began to vigorously develop infrastructure at the end of last century, so far only 20-30 years of history. Because of its short history, much of the steel is still in use and cannot be recycled. Secondly, China’s development speed is very fast, the demand for steel is also very large, and the waste steel is far from meeting our demand for steel, so we still need to make steel from iron ore. In addition, the supply of scrap steel is unstable, and the price fluctuates greatly in the short term, so that enterprises can not control the cost, so they prefer to import iron ore from abroad. More importantly, the quality of waste steel in the market is different. After recycling waste steel from the hands of residents, manual sorting and transportation are needed, which increases the operating cost, so that the selling price of waste steel has no advantage compared with iron ore.

Moreover, in order to ensure the efficiency of large steel plants, their machinery and equipment are made to adapt to the calcination process of iron ore. And the recycling of waste steel needs matching equipment, which increases the cost input of enterprises. From the above factors, enterprises are more inclined to use iron ore, rather than the use of scrap steel. But in order to protect the environment, there are also some enterprises will use recycled old steel, but the output of recycled old steel is not high.

Why import iron ore?

As we know, our country has vast territory and abundant resources, and many important mineral resources can be found in our country, so why do we need to import iron ore from abroad?

This is actually because of the high cost of iron ore in China. First of all, because most of the iron ore in China is lean ore, that is to say, the iron content in iron ore is not high, so it is difficult to extract iron. In addition, most of the iron ore in China is a composite ore with multiple elements, so that the quality of iron ore is not the same. However, Australia is not only rich in mining, but also mostly open-pit mining, with lower mining costs. Even if sold at a lower price, it can still earn profits, so it is more competitive in the international market. Moreover, it is difficult to form scale effect because of the small reserves of iron ore in China. However, the ore in Australia is not only of high quality, but also of large reserves, which is easy to form scale effect and further reduce the mining cost. In addition, China’s iron ore is mainly transported by railway and land, and the transportation cost is high. And in Australia, it’s mostly by sea, so shipping costs are low, so even importing iron ore is still much cheaper than mining it ourselves. However, it is precisely because China is heavily dependent on iron ore, which leads to a disadvantageous position in the negotiations with Australian iron ore. It is difficult to control the pricing power, so that China can only import at a high price.

The solutions are as follows: developing alternatives to iron ore; Improve the utilization efficiency of waste steel; Importing iron ore from more countries to spread the risk; Investment in foreign iron ore enterprises, but these methods can not be implemented for the time being, can only hope that we can find a better solution later.

Conclusion

The reason why it is difficult to use waste steel in China is that:

Scrap steel production is small, difficult to meet the needs of enterprises.

Waste steel transportation, sorting and other links are too many, the cost is high, when the cost is not low.

Modern enterprise equipment is mostly built to adapt to iron ore, it is difficult to digest waste steel.

The reason why we need to import iron ore from abroad at a high price is really out of necessity. After all, China’s iron ore reserves are not high, and the quality is not high, so the cost of using domestic iron ore is high, so we can only import iron ore from abroad.

With much of Southeast Asia locked down and air and sea transport restricted, cross-border road freight demand in Southeast Asia is surging, while e-commerce sales are booming.

According to DHL Global Forwarding, road logistics is fast becoming a reliable alternative to air and sea freight affected by the outbreak.

“Road freight is now playing a more important role in Asia’s international long distance transportation solutions as it provides an economically efficient and sustainable option,” said Thomas Tieber, CEO of DHL Southeast Asia.

Indeed, the company has been a strong supporter of the region’s road freight potential. In December, the company noted that trucking companies had begun to shift more to overland intermodal transportation, including long-haul trucking to Europe, rather than just intra-Asian transportation.

Ceva and DSV Panalpina are also quick to recommend Silk Road freight to supplement the rapidly growing china-Europe rail traffic, and even a local company in Malaysia has deployed trucks along the route as they grow tired of the delays and capacity shortages plaguing container shipping.

DHL believes that the economic recovery in ASEAN countries will lead to a surge in demand for road logistics services, with an annual growth rate of 8 per cent until 2025.

“The growth of e-commerce consumer spending and B2B e-commerce, which is expected to grow 70 percent by 2027, is also driving demand for door-to-door logistics solutions,” it added.

DHL also believes that the ASEAN Customs Transit System (ACTS) will enhance cross-border road freight. Launched last year, ACTS allows trucks to cross multiple ASEAN borders and offers a single guarantee of tariffs and taxes throughout. So far, 500 cars have been licensed to operate.

Kelvin Leung, CEO of DHL Asia Pacific, added: “This bodes well for ASEAN countries as they prepare to rebound strongly from the outbreak.”

However, The lockdown in Southeast Asia due to the outbreak poses additional challenges, Says Kelvin Leung. “We are following the containment measures that each country has put in place, and sometimes those containment measures can affect daily operations,” he said in an interview.

At the same time, DHL says a growing number of customers are also turning to road freight for short – and long-haul hauls to reduce carbon emissions.

Air transport from Jakarta to Bangkok via Singapore would not only cut carbon emissions in half, it said, but also save 35 per cent on costs compared with direct flights. Similarly, trucking from Singapore to China can reduce the carbon footprint by 83% compared with air freight.