Chinese customs data showed a surge in exports of nearly 30 items, with corn increasing 32-fold from 400 tonnes to nearly 12,724 tonnes, bananas from just over 63.4 tonnes to 1,156 tonnes and wheat powder from less than 0.6 tonnes to 7.6 tonnes. Spirit exports also more than quadrupled, rising from 2.1 million litres to 9.5 million in the second quarter compared with the previous year. Other items like beer, confectionery, chocolate, bread and biscuits also increased. The customs figures for rice exports were incomplete, but those available showed a sharp year-on-year increase from 3.5 million tonnes in the second quarter of 2016 to over 11 million tonnes in the second quarter of this year. However, China banned North Korean seafood imports on Monday – cutting off a revenue stream that generated US$190 million for Pyongyang in 2016.  Cai Jian, a Sino-North Korean expert from Fudan University in Shanghai, suggested “The surge can be a result from a bigger market demand from North Korea, since its economy is gradually reviving and the black market is booming, ” said Cai Jian, a Sino-North Korean expert from Fudan University in Shanghai.

(Comment: Although the international community recently agreed to punish North Korea over its nuclear programme, food exports were excluded from the UN sanctions in the hope of ensuring a minimum living standard for the country’s citizens.)