China is the world's largest producer, consumer and exporter of garlic, with an annual export volume of more than 1.5 million tons and export markets to more than 140 countries and regions, including Southeast Asia, the Americas, the Middle East, the European Union and Japan. Shandong, Jiangsu and Henan are the main production bases of garlic in China, and Chinese garlic has strong competitiveness in the international market due to its high quality and high cost performance.
The Technical Guidelines for the Export of Garlic and Its Products, published by the Ministry of Commerce of China, details China's garlic standards, including internationally accepted standards such as those of the European Union, the United States and Japan. At the same time, the USDA also has detailed garlic rating standards.
China has very strict requirements for the export of agricultural products, including garlic. In Shandong and other major garlic exporting provinces, farmers need to go through strict inspection and quarantine procedures in order to obtain export qualifications. After obtaining the export qualification, you also need to face the sampling inspection of the importing country, and if you are not qualified, you will also not be able to pass the customs.
The United States is the world's leading consumer of garlic, with 40% of garlic grown domestically and 60% of imported garlic coming from China. However, since 2018, the amount of garlic imported by the United States from China has dropped significantly, following the tariffs imposed by former Trump on Chinese garlic.
According to China's Ministry of Commerce, in the first half of 2023, the United States was China's second-largest garlic exporter, but due to tariffs, China's garlic** nearly doubled, and American consumers were affected as a result.