Commodity Trade Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Commodity Trade - Essay Example Topic Page No. Figure 1. China Imports and its Trends from year 1980-2007 5 Figure 2. China Exports and its Trends from year 1980-2007 5 Figure 3. China net trade of rice, wheat and corn, 1961-2008 6 Figure 4 China’s Grain Exports from 2008-2010 7 Figure 5 Grain Consumption in China 8 Figure 6 Global Grain Prices 11 1. Introduction: There was a time three decades ago when China had a negligible role in the world trade. However, the situation has significantly altered over the years and now the country has improved its performance and is considered as one of the largest exporters in the world. The country also imports considerably products like raw materials, halfway contributions, and others. The growth of the country in the recent years with respect to trade has created significant challenges for the other countries in the world. Demands of materials in the country has significant impacts on the other countries that has also been felt with the deceleration in China’s i ndustrial production in the middle of the 2008-2009 global economic crisis contributing to a remarkable collapse in the prices of commodities (Feenstra & Wei, 2009, p.1). In the present times, there has been a steep rise in the prices of the different commodities. Considering commodities like the grains, rise in demand has been experienced with the rising incomes in countries like India and China. Several factors associated with the trade policies of the country can be realized to have significant effects on the imports and exports of grains. The production of grains including wheat, flour, rice, and others are largely dependent on the world market that is associated with a country’s imports and exports (Ensuring the UK’s Food Security in a Changing World, 2008). The present study reflects on the emerging nations participating in the global financial markets through import and export mechanisms and thus having an impact on the commodities. In this case China has been c onsidered and grains have been chosen as the commodity for the purpose of the study on the impact of the country’s imports and exports on the commodity. 1.1. Aim of the Study: The aim of the study is to understand the impacts of the trade policies of emerging nations on different commodities considering China as the nation and grains as the commodity. 1.2. Objectives: In order to achieve the aim of the study, the following objectives have been considered: To learn about the trade policies- imports and exports- of China, considering grains as the commodity chosen for the study. To discuss about the major importers and exporters of grain. To learn about the international price of grains and their agricultural policies in the market. To try to determine the impacts of China’s participation in global financial markets through exports and imports on the grains commodity. 2. China Imports and Exports: An Overview: Over the recent years, the imports and exports of China have increased with the total value of the exports and imports being recorded as USD 2.174 trillion in the year 2007. The total value of imports has been recorded at USD 956 billion in 2007 that reflected an increase of 25 percent on a yearly average. This has been possible owing to the living standards of the citizens of the country being rising over the years (China import and export trends, 2011). The imports and trends of the country can be represented through the following graph: Figure 1: China Imports and its Trends from year