Tough times ahead for importers

Imports plunged 17.7 percent year-on-year to 924 billion yuan ($145.21 billion) in September, posting an 11th straight decline.

"The fourth quarter is expected to be stronger than the third as a better policy environment will help facilitate the steady growth in foreign trade," Huang Songping, the General Administration of Customs spokesman, said on Oct 13.

China's imports dropped by 15.1 percent to 7.63 trillion yuan during the first three quarters of 2015 compared with the numbers a year back, according to the administration.

The steep fall in imports reflects China's slower economic growth as well as the plunge in global commodity prices, said experts.

The sluggish global economic recovery and weaker domestic demand due to the slowing economy contributed to the slide in imports, says Tu Xinquan, a professor at the University of International Business and Economics in Beijing.

Imports of some bulk commodities exhibited growth in volume but saw steep falls in prices, said the administration.

"During the first three quarters of this year, China's imports of some bulk commodities kept climbing," said Huang.

Crude imports soared to 249 million metric tons, an increase of 8.8 percent. Imports of refined oil and soybeans reached 23.19 million tons and 59.65 million tons, up 4.7 percent and 13.1 percent, respectively.

(China Daily Africa Weekly 10/16/2015 page22)