(Yicai Global) Jan. 16 -- China's grain imports dropped nearly 11 percent last year from a year ago due to rising prices.

Imports of grains such as soybean meal and corn fell to 146.9 million tons in 2022, still ranking the second-highest ever, the General Administration of Customs announced recently. In 2021, the number was 164.5 million tons, a historic high.

This year, an agricultural produce expert expects grain imports to maintain at a high level. Considering the huge feed grain gap in China, grain imports may not decline further this year, Zhang Zhixian, vice president of Cngrain.Com’s Yida Research Institute, said to Yicai Global.

The total import tally of last year equals 21 percent of the country's grain production. Soybean made up 62 percent of all grain produce brought into the country. The value of foreign grain purchases rose almost 11 percent last year from a year earlier.

The main reason for the lower quantity in 2022 is higher importing costs amid rising grain prices and the appreciation of the US dollar, Zheng Wenhui, researcher at the Guangdong South China Grain Trading Center, told Yicai Global.

The FAO Food Price Index, compiled by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, jumped 17.9 percent to a record high in 2022 from 2021. Global corn prices soared almost 25 percent and those of wheat surged nearly 16 percent to record highs.

The reaction is not only about price sensitivity. China's feed grain demand has declined as the country has made progress in reducing the use of corn and soybean meal in the livestock feed industry, Zhang said.

Moreover, purchasing channels are diversifying. If China imports a lot of corn from Brazil, prices, as well as the supply and demand fundamentals of maize will majorly change, Zhang predicted. China and Brazil reached an agreement on corn imports in May 2022. The first bulk cargo ship carrying Brazilian corn arrived in Guangdong province on Jan. 7, signaling a shift in the market structure. Previously, China imported corn mainly from the United States and Ukraine.

Editors: Shi Yi, Emmi Laine, Xiao Yi