【Data released by the U.S. Census Bureau this Wednesday shows that U.S. exports of bulk agricultural products in 2024 increased by 22% year-on-year, marking the largest annual increase in the past decade. The total export value of agricultural and related products for the year reached 191 billion USD, the third highest in history.】
According to official U.S. statistics, the top three export destinations in the first three quarters of 2024 were Canada, Mexico, and China. The increase in U.S. agricultural exports reflects imperialist policies under ongoing agricultural crises, forcing the U.S. to support tariffs and protectionist trade policies, and to push more exports to neighboring countries Canada and Mexico, turning them into markets for American agricultural products to shift domestic surplus crises. As a result, by the end of 2024, Trump gained the support of large farm owners and landowners. This is evident from Trump’s overwhelming advantage in rural areas during the 2024 U.S. election.
【In the Japanese market, in response to rising domestic rice prices, Japan announced it would release reserve rice into the market, but also assured farmers’ groups that selling national reserve stocks would not lead to a drop in rice prices. These rice stocks will be sold to organizations such as the Japan Agricultural Cooperatives Federation.】
The notorious Japanese agricultural cartel, Japan Agricultural Cooperatives (Nōkyō), continues to manipulate the market to maintain high monopoly prices. Even after the Japanese government, under public pressure, announced the sale of reserve rice, Nōkyō still manipulated the government to hand over the reserves for sale, thus maintaining its monopoly in Japan’s grain market and essentially perpetuating the widespread rice shortage among the people. During this rice shortage, Japanese people cannot eat rice and can only survive on cheap noodles!
【In the domestic market, despite reports this week that Chinese buyers may have delayed or resold about 10 ships or 600,000 tons of imported wheat, some imported grains will still arrive in February. Industry data shows that approximately 350,000 tons of Brazilian corn are expected to arrive at Chinese ports in February, along with two ships of U.S. corn arriving at Fujian and Tianjin ports. Regarding barley, only one ship of Argentine barley, about 20,000 tons, may arrive. For sorghum imports, since the current theoretical import duty cost in the U.S. exceeds 2,400 RMB/ton, making it uncompetitive, it is expected that one ship of Argentine sorghum, about 40,000 tons, will arrive at Shekou, Guangdong, for brewing purposes.】
From the above data, it can be seen that China is beginning to attempt to “decouple” from U.S. agricultural products to some extent, trying to escape the dangerous dependence on its biggest enemy for grain supplies. However, due to the more unfavorable economic and political conditions faced by agriculture compared to other sectors in Chinese capitalism, China cannot completely eliminate reliance on foreign agricultural imports. Instead, China prefers to increase investment in agricultural capital in colonies, turning Asia, Africa, and Latin America into its “fruit baskets,” “vegetable baskets,” and “farms.” China believes that as long as it does so, it can rest easy and remain unaffected during U.S. economic blockades. However, such actions are also digging its own grave. Imperialist invasion has, on one hand, subjected colonial peoples to double exploitation and slavery by their own and foreign ruling classes, but on the other hand, it has also created the colonial proletariat. Generally, the colonial proletariat emerged after imperialist invasions, with a much longer history than the native bourgeoisie, and with stronger fighting capacity. The deeper the imperialist oppression and the broader the exploitation, the larger the proletariat and the higher its organization and strength. China’s clever “shift” of agricultural imports ultimately only provokes widespread resistance among colonial peoples, putting its agricultural lifeline in their hands. When colonial peoples awaken and rise up against China, Chinese agriculture will collapse, and the rule of Chinese imperialism will come to an end.
http://swj.ningbo.gov.cn/art/2025/1/21/art_1229031548_58934718.html
https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/G60BePAWbsPTvufHI6jCeA