Follow the harvest across borders.
Agricultural trade connects different growing seasons, production strengths and food needs. Explore a decade of China’s recorded exchange with countries documented in WFA’s international network, and selected routes between them.
Food systems extend beyond the field.
A crop grows in a particular place, but the market for it can be much wider. Different climates, seasons, diets and processing industries create demand for agricultural exchange. Grain may move into a feed mill, fruit into a refrigerated distribution network, and oilseeds into a crushing plant before their value reaches a household.
WFA brings farmer interests into that wider picture. Our trade perspective connects agricultural knowledge with product requirements, infrastructure, commercial relationships and the public institutions that shape market access. The statistics below provide context for those conversations.
Explore the markets behind the numbers.
The explorer covers 2015–2024, using China’s annual UN Comtrade records and the same 21-chapter customs basket throughout. Select a country, follow an individual product group, compare both directions of trade and play through the years.
The 27 counterpart countries are documented in WFA’s public archive. This research selection does not establish the association’s complete current membership roster. The values describe national trade flows.
A decade of agricultural exchange.
Compare China’s recorded trade with countries connected through the WFA archive. Choose a market, product group and direction.
Recorded trade value
In nominal US dollars
Same covered product group
27 documented counterpart countries
Nominal trade value · current USD
HS01–24 excluding 06, 14, 24 · 21 chapters · National trade values, rather than association transactions. Imports and exports use different valuation conventions.
Where the exchange is strongest.
To China · All covered goods. Select a country to explore its history.
What travels across borders.
27 documented counterpart countries · To China. Chapter labels describe the whole customs category.
Connections beyond one market.
Four reporting origins, seven destination markets and three benchmark years. Select a route to compare its recorded export value.
Recorded exports · All covered goods
Compare every covered route
| Origin ↓ / destination → | Brazil | Argentina | Russia | Indonesia | Thailand | Vietnam | China |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brazil | — | ||||||
| Argentina | — | ||||||
| Russia | — | ||||||
| China | — |
Exporter-reported values are generally FOB and may differ from destination-reported imports. Russia returned no 2024 export observations for this selection; missing values remain “Not available”. The matrix is a research sample, not a complete membership or WFA shipment register.
View the annual data table
| Year | To China | From China |
|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 43,230,767,550 | 20,409,768,774 |
| 2016 | 40,511,504,019 | 21,750,735,524 |
| 2017 | 46,494,236,487 | 22,281,956,835 |
| 2018 | 58,191,829,474 | 23,737,025,612 |
| 2019 | 63,205,415,290 | 24,770,293,164 |
| 2020 | 72,210,616,135 | 25,463,326,906 |
| 2021 | 91,675,601,275 | 27,500,873,374 |
| 2022 | 107,749,937,671 | 30,127,967,030 |
| 2023 | 114,403,128,952 | 29,670,494,292 |
| 2024 | 103,706,794,827 | 30,211,784,545 |
Scope, sources & how to read the data
Product coverage. HS01–24 excluding 06 (plants and cut flowers), 14 (vegetable plaiting materials) and 24 (tobacco). The 21 retained chapters cover food and agricultural goods, including feed, beverages and some non-food products. This is a defined merchandise basket, not a measure of all food consumption.
Reporter and value. All observations use China’s annual UN Comtrade records. Imports generally include freight and insurance (CIF); exports generally use free-on-board values (FOB). Values are current US dollars. Growth reflects prices and quantities together; it is not physical tonnage growth.
Country coverage. The 27 counterpart countries have documented links in WFA’s public archive. They are a research selection, not a complete approved membership register. The world benchmark includes all of China’s trading partners for the same product basket. These flows are national trade, not WFA transactions.
Missing values. Totals sum returned chapter observations. An absent observation remains missing and is not replaced with zero. UN Comtrade can revise historical records; detailed products may change classification across HS revisions. This ten-year window uses original reported chapters from 2015–2024.
Physical quantity. The public preview extract does not provide usable net weights. Dollar values are therefore shown without a tonnes conversion.
China is a major point of connection.
Recorded imports into China from the 27 documented counterpart countries reached $103.7 billion in 2024 for the covered basket, compared with $43.2 billion in 2015. Their share of China’s world imports in the same basket rose from 42.0% to 51.9%. These are nominal trade values; the increase combines changes in prices, quantities and the mix of goods.
The relationship runs in both directions. China recorded $30.2 billion of exports to the same countries in 2024, up from $20.4 billion in 2015. Import values generally include freight and insurance, while export values generally use free-on-board valuation. A comparison therefore describes the scale and direction of exchange rather than a precisely matched financial balance.
Each product asks for a different chain.
In 2024, oilseeds and the other products included in HS chapter 12 accounted for $41.1 billion of China’s recorded imports from this country selection. Meat and offal accounted for $11.7 billion, fruit and nuts for $11.6 billion, and fish and seafood for $9.9 billion. Chapter totals include the full customs category; they do not identify the share used directly as human food.
These differences matter operationally. A grain shipment calls for dry storage, grading and bulk handling. Fresh produce requires close attention to temperature and delivery time. Animal products introduce distinct health, inspection and traceability requirements. A useful trading relationship is designed around the goods themselves.
Bulk crops
Plan grading, storage conditions, consolidation and shipment around a seasonal harvest.
Perishable produce
Connect handling, cooling, packing and delivery commitments from the first collection point.
Livestock and aquatic foods
Align health documentation, inspection, traceability and the receiving market’s requirements.
Processed foods and feed
Understand the product specification and its place in the buyer’s processing or distribution system.
Different countries bring different strengths.
Brazil, Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam and Russia were the five largest sources of China’s covered-basket imports within this 27-country selection in 2024. Brazil accounted for $49.7 billion, Thailand for $11.3 billion and Russia for $7.3 billion. The interactive ranking lets readers compare countries using the same year, trade direction and product coverage.
Country-level totals provide a starting point. They do not describe every farmer’s opportunity, the quality of a particular buyer, or the accessibility of a market to a small producer. Product-level demand, local logistics, regulatory requirements and the terms of a sale must be understood together.
Exchange also connects agricultural neighbours.
The selected-route matrix adds a second perspective: exports reported by Argentina, Brazil, China and Russia towards seven selected markets in 2015, 2020 and 2024. The destinations include those four countries alongside Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam. It shows exchange across neighbouring markets and distant production regions.
This is a bounded sample of four reporting origins and seven destinations, rather than a complete association-wide trade matrix. Russia returned no 2024 export records for this selection, which remains missing rather than becoming zero. Exporter-reported values can differ from the corresponding imports reported by a destination, so the route matrix and China-import charts should be read separately.
Make the handovers work.
The physical route is only one part of a trade relationship. Goods must retain quality, documents must describe the shipment accurately, and each participant needs a clear understanding of delivery, acceptance and payment.
For farmer organizations, practical cooperation can begin by identifying the weakest handover in a particular chain. A collection point, testing facility, reliable road connection or better storage process may determine whether producers can supply a buyer consistently.
At the farm gate
Agree on collection timing, grades, quantities and how the farmer receives payment.
At consolidation
Keep origin, quality and inventory records usable when goods from several producers are brought together.
In storage and transport
Maintain conditions suitable for the commodity and a clear chain of responsibility.
At the border
Match product requirements, certificates and declarations with the destination’s applicable rules.
At delivery
Make inspection, acceptance, claims and settlement procedures clear before shipment.
Between seasons
Review what changed in prices, quality, production and demand before repeating a supply arrangement.
Open exchange needs resilient production.
International markets can broaden the routes available to producers and buyers. They also expose a supply chain to changes in freight costs, currency conditions, border measures and demand. A strong relationship considers those factors alongside the risks already present on the farm.
WFA’s emphasis on cooperation connects trade with the ability to keep producing: workable water management, practical science, rural infrastructure and a viable livelihood. Market access is more valuable when agricultural communities can sustain the quality and continuity it requires.
A clear picture starts with a clear measure.
This dataset covers HS chapters 01–24 excluding 06, 14 and 24: 21 chapters of food and agricultural goods. It includes live animals, feed, beverages and some non-food products within retained chapters. It is not the WTO Agreement on Agriculture product definition or a measure of every food traded worldwide.
Values are current US dollars. The public preview extract does not provide usable net weights, so these charts do not convert value into tonnes. Missing observations remain missing; totals sum the chapter values returned by the source. The annual table, downloadable files and methodology notes make the underlying scope visible.