China-Europe Railway Express sees over 3,000 train trips via eastern corridor

More than 3,000 freight trains have traveled through the eastern corridor of the China-Europe Railway Express network as of Wednesday this year, delivering over 300,000 twenty-foot equivalent unit (TEU) containers of goods, according to China Railway Harbin Group.

The eastern corridor, consisting of Manzhouli, Suifenhe and Tongjiang railway ports, accounted for 26.6 percent of the national total of China-Europe freight train trips, with return trips making up 33.1 percent of the nationwide figure.

"This year, the freight volume by return trains has been relatively high, and the variety of goods has also expanded. For example, soybean oil, decorative items, and auto tires are newly added categories this year. For return trains eligible for release within the same day, we perform direct transshipment of the cargoes to avoid ground handling, so as to further improve the transport efficiency," said Yang Liang, a duty officer at the Manzhouli Station.

Currently, there have been 27 routes via the corridor, connecting China with 14 countries, including Poland, Germany and the Netherlands. The routes link more than 60 cities across China, including Changsha, Zhengzhou, Chengdu and Suzhou.

A total of 12 categories of goods, including electronic products, aviation parts, light textiles and general merchandise, grains and soybean oils, have been transported through the eastern corridor.

To increase trade flows among Belt and Road participating countries, railway, border inspection, and customs departments have been collaborating closely to shorten the stay of return freight trains at related ports.

Now, the clearance efficiency for return trains has increased by nearly 10 percent.

"We have been accelerating the development of a 'smart port' and working with railway operators to develop a railway data platform. By doing so, we aim to establish a seamlessly coordinated service and management model, ensuring zero-delay inspections and customs clearance for China-Europe freight trains," said Qi Qiulai, deputy team leader at the Manzhouli border inspection station.

China-Europe Railway Express sees over 3,000 train trips via eastern corridor

Global food commodity prices climbed for a second consecutive month in March, driven mainly by higher energy costs linked to escalating conflict in the Middle East, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) said in report released on Friday.

The FAO Food Price Index, which tracks monthly changes in the international prices of a basket of globally traded food commodities, averaged 128.5 points in March, up 2.4 percent from February and 1.0 percent above its level a year ago.

According to the report, the FAO Vegetable Oil Index and Sugar Price Index showed the largest increases, up 5.1 percent and 7.2 percent, respectively.

The FAO Cereal Price Index increased by 1.5 percent from the previous month, driven primarily by higher world wheat prices, which rose 4.3 percent.

The FAO Meat Price Index rose by 1.0 percent from the previous month, and the FAO All-Rice Price Index declined by 3.0 percent in March, according to the report.

FAO stated that rising energy and fertilizer prices have been driving up agricultural input costs.

If the conflict stretches beyond 40 days, farmers will have to choose to farm the same with fewer inputs, plant less, or switch to less intensive fertilizer crops, according to FAO Chief Economist Maximo Torero.

These choices will hit future yields and shape food supply and commodity prices for the rest of this year and beyond, Torero said.

Global food prices rise for 2nd consecutive month in March amid Middle East conflict: FAO