According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, imports of key commodities, such as fertilisers, pesticides, raw materials for animal feed, corn, and soybeans, reached US$7.87 billion, down 11.6% compared to the same period last year.
Soybean imports saw a sharp fall of 11.5% in volume and 24.1% in value year-on-year. In particular, the estimated volume of soybean imports reached 173,000 tonnes in June, worth US$72 million, bringing the total import volume of soybeans in the last six months to 765,000 tonnes with a value of US$307 million.
Fertilisers also recorded a decline of 9.3% in volume and 20.6% in value, with an estimated volume of 328,000 tonnes imported in June worth US$86 million, and the total volume of fertiliser imported during January-June to 1.88 million tonnes, valued at US$531 million.
Imports of animal feed and raw materials fell by 9.1%, while corn imports recorded the lowest drop of 0.3% in volume and 15% in value compared to the same period of 2015.
Some imported items such as wood and wood products, pesticides and seafood fell by 21.1%, 12.7% and 3.4% in value respectively over the same period last year.
In reverse, wheat imports witnessed strong growth, increasing by 53.5% in volume and 20.3% in value compared to the same period of 2015. Wheat imports in June reached 249,000 tonnes valued at US$49 million, bringing the volume of wheat imports during the first six months of 2016 to 1.8 million tonnes with a value of US$386 million.
