BEIJING: China imported 190,000 tonnes of sugar in April, down 14.1 percent from the same month last year, customs data showed on Tuesday. Imports in the first four months of the year rose to 1.09 million tonnes, up 30.9 percent from the same period a year ago, boosted by low global prices. April imports were also down 37 percent from 301,709 tonnes in March.
The decline was expected as refiners refrained from buying the sweetener ahead of the results of a government probe into alleged dumping by top exporting countries. Beijing said on Monday that its probe had found rising sugar imports seriously harmed the local industry, and imposed hefty new tariffs on shipments for three years.
