Wheat is transported to the warehouse by conveyor belt at Dagang branch of Central Grain Reserve Tianjin Dongli Direct Warehouse Co., Ltd. in north China's Tianjin, Oct. 12, 2022. Photo:Xinhua

A shipment of 500 tons of rice donated by China has arrived in Sri Lanka, the Chinese Embassy in Sri Lanka announced on Friday, with cumulative shipments of 6,000 tons so far, a remarkable level for China's continuous effort to support global food security. 

China said in the first half of 2022 that it would grant 500 million yuan ($69.59 million) in humanitarian aid to Sri Lanka, which has been experiencing a fiscal debt crisis, including 10,000 tons of rice for schools -- estimated to feed more than 1 million students in 7,900 schools scattered in nine provinces.

In the first nine months of 2022, China exported $47.3 billion worth of agricultural products, up 23 percent year-on-year, said Vice Minister of Commerce Guo Tingting in a speech delivered via video link during the 5th Hongqiao International Economic Forum held on Saturday in Shanghai. 

The exports included more than 2 million tons of grain and relevant products, and over 30,000 tons of grain in humanitarian aid went to other developing countries, Guo said.

"In the past decade, as the top grain producer in the world, China's annual grain output has surpassed 1.3 trillion jin (650 million tons) for seven consecutive years, and it is able to feed 20 percent of the global population with 9 percent of the global cultivated land area and 6 percent of the global fresh water resources," Guo said, noting that it was significant progress toward global food security.

She noted that China has always put food security first, contributing to global food supply while meeting China's domestic food demand. 

China has signed free trade agreements with 26 countries and regions in the world, and the direct investment stock of the agricultural industry has reached $20 billion, with more than 1,700 overseas agricultural enterprises being established, said Guo. 

China's average tariff for agricultural products has been kept at a low level in the past 10 years at just 39 percent of the average level for the developed countries. 

China's agricultural products have been exported to more than 210 countries and regions, and its imported agricultural products generated growing income for millions of farmers worldwide. 

Global Times