BEIJING, Feb 12: China plans to import 8.468 million tons of wheat this year. The Chinese government unveiled 18.3 million tons of tariff quotas for imported grains, including corn, rice and wheat, for this year. The quotas were set during Beijing’s negotiations with the World Trade Organization (WTO) members.

According to the official sources, it is the first time the government has formally made public import quotas, applicant qualifications and allocation principles since China became a WTO member in the second half of last year.

China will import 8.468 million tons of wheat from its trade partners and 90 per cent of the quota belongs to state-owned foreign trade companies. For corn, the import quota is 5.85 million tons and 68 per cent of the amount will be given to state-owned applicants.—APP