Due to Japan's strict new standards for chemical residues, China's exports of farm produce to Japan fell 18 percent from the same month last year to US$569 million.

The Shanghai Securities News made the report Tuesday on the basis of latest figures provided by the Chinese Ministry of Agriculture.

Japan, the largest overseas market for Chinese farm produce exports, started to implement the Positive List System for Agricultural Chemicals Residues on May 29.

The new system, imposing much stricter standards upon residues in agricultural products, directly affects Chinese agricultural export worth about US$8 billion and involves more than 6,000 Chinese enterprises, the newspaper said.

Many relevant standards in China are not corresponding with those new standards in Japan, and for those standards that the two countries can meet with, one fourth of Japan's are stricter than Chinese standards, limiting over 60 kinds of Chinese farm produce including grain, corn and aquatic products.

(Xinhua News Agency August 1, 2006)