Agriculture & Food

Recent reports have shown that three months after the derailment of a toxic chemical delivery train in Ohio, the local residents still feel unwell and harmful substances continue to be detected nearby. This accident caused a large amount of highly toxic chemicals to enter the air, water, and soil, resulting in the death of tens of thousands of animals. The United States is one of China's important sources of international trade imports of agricultural products. Will this accident have an impact on China's international trade imports of agricultural products?

What is the production situation of agricultural products in Ohio?

Ohio accounts for a relatively small proportion of agricultural production in the United States. According to the 2017 US Census data, Ohio's agricultural output value was $9.34 billion, accounting for only 2.4% of the total agricultural output value in the United States and ranking 16th. The accident site and the Ohio River basin are far away from California, Iowa, Texas, Nebraska and Kansas, the five states with the largest agricultural production value.

From the perspective of main agricultural product production, Ohio is not an important production area either. In 2022, Ohio's wheat production was 1 million tons, accounting for only 2.2% of the total wheat production in the United States; The yield of corn is 15.105 million tons, accounting for 4.3%; The soybean production is 7.673 million tons, accounting for 6.6%; Sorghum and cotton have no output. The Ohio State and Ohio River Basin are far away from the central and northern regions where wheat production is concentrated, the middle and upper reaches of the Mississippi River where corn and soybean production is concentrated, Kansas where sorghum production is concentrated, and the southern regions where cotton production is concentrated.

What is the international trade export situation of agricultural products in Ohio?

The proportion of international trade exports of agricultural products in Ohio is lower. In 2022, Ohio's agricultural exports amounted to $3.56 billion, accounting for only 1.7% of the total agricultural exports of the United States. The major export states of agricultural products in the United States do not belong to the Ohio River basin, and are far away from Ohio. Canada is the largest export market for agricultural products in Ohio, with exports accounting for 35.2%; Next is Egypt, accounting for 14.7%; China ranks third, accounting for only 6.9%.

Soybeans are the main variety of agricultural products exported from Ohio. In 2022, Ohio exported 2.248 million tons of soybeans, with an export value of 1.37 billion US dollars, accounting for 38.6% of Ohio's agricultural exports, but only 4% of the United States' soybean exports. Egypt is the largest export market for soybeans in Ohio, with an export volume accounting for 31.4%. The export value of other agricultural products in Ohio accounts for less than 6%.

What is the international trade export situation of agricultural products from Ohio to China?

China imports less agricultural products from Ohio. In 2022, Ohio's agricultural exports to China reached 250 million US dollars, accounting for only 0.7% of the US agricultural exports to China, with over 80% being soybeans and wheat. The Ohio State and the Ohio River Basin are geographically far away from Louisiana, Washington, Texas and California, which export most agricultural products to China.

In terms of variety, Ohio exported 290000 tons of soybeans to China in 2022, accounting for only 1% of the US soybean exports to China; 50000 tons of wheat exported to China, accounting for 5.7%; Corn, sorghum, and cotton are not exported to China. The main sources of agricultural products imported from the United States in China are far from the accident site, making it difficult to be affected.

According to existing reports, the impact of the chemical train derailment accident on the environment is still concentrated near the accident site. The Appalachian Mountains are located in the east of the accident site, which has limited the spread of the impact of the accident to a certain extent. The impact of future accidents is expected to be limited to the Ohio River basin.

Ohio accounts for a relatively small proportion of the production and export of major agricultural products in the United States. Currently, it seems that this accident will not have a significant impact on the normal import of agricultural products in China. As the Ohio River basin also accounts for a limited proportion in the production and export of major agricultural products in the United States, even if the impact of the accident spreads to the entire Ohio River basin in the future, it is difficult to have a greater impact on China's agricultural imports. At present, the crops affected by the derailment accident of the chemical train have not been harvested yet. As long as China can turn away the agricultural products affected by the accident, consumers do not need to worry too much. (Transferred from: China Council for the Promotion of International Trade Agricultural Industry Branch)