China’s Imports Unexpectedly Fell In June, But Exports Beat Forecasts

China’s imports fell in June, missing expectations for a slight rise, while exports rose more than expected, customs data showed on Friday.

KEY DATA

China’s imports fell 2.3% in June from a year earlier in US dollar terms. That contrasted with a forecast for growth of 2.8 percent, according to a Reuters poll.
Exports denominated in US dollars for June rose 8.6% year-on-year, beating expectations for growth of 8%.
Those numbers boosted year-to-date imports by 2% and exports by 3.6% in the first six months compared to the same period a year earlier.
China’s trade with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations grew 7.1 percent in the first half of the year, cementing the bloc’s position as the country’s largest trading partner by region, followed by the European Union.

ACCENT

China’s imports of rare earth elements, meat, cosmetics and machinery fell sharply in the first half of the year, customs data showed. During this time, however, imports of iron ore and oil increased.

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Amid slower domestic growth, Beijing has sought to shore up its supplies of food and essential minerals to bolster national security.

In the first half of the year, China’s exports of furniture, home appliances, ships and automobiles rose. Exports of rare earths fell in value but rose in volume, the data showed.

China’s car exports rose 18 percent in volume last month from the same period last year, customs data showed.

WHAT TO WATCH FOR

China’s exports rose 7.6% in May from a year ago in US dollar terms, but imports rose just 1.8% during that time.

Domestic demand remains weak. Consumer prices in China rose 0.2 percent in June from a year earlier, beating expectations, while producer prices met expectations, data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed on Wednesday.

The core consumer price index, which strips out more volatile food and energy prices, rose 0.6% year-on-year in June, slightly slower than the 0.7% increase in the first six months of the year.

China’s National Bureau of Statistics is due to release second-quarter gross domestic product data and economic indicators for June on Monday.

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Only 1% Of Cyprus Farms Use Precision Farming Technologies

by THEFUTURE.TEAM

July 24, 2026

Cyprus remains one of the European Union’s least digitised agricultural economies, with just 1% of farms using precision farming technologies in 2023, according to Eurostat.

The findings come as the EU continues to encourage the adoption of digital tools aimed at improving agricultural productivity, efficiency and sustainability.

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Internet Access Expands, But Digital Uptake Lags

Internet access has improved across the bloc, although adoption remains uneven. Eurostat found that 43% of EU farms had internet access in 2023, with northern and central European countries leading the way.

Denmark, Germany, Slovakia, Latvia, the Czech Republic and Austria all reported internet access rates above 90%.

Greater connectivity, however, has not translated into widespread digital adoption. Farm management information systems, which help farmers manage day-to-day operations, were used by only about 11% of EU farms. France was a notable exception, with around 60% of farms using the technology.

Precision Farming Concentrated In Larger Operations

Robotics adoption also remained relatively limited, with only about 7% of EU farms using robotic technologies. Overall, around 18% of farms with utilised agricultural area employed at least one precision farming technology or practice in 2023.

These included robotics for plant protection, band spraying, variable-rate application, precision crop monitoring and soil analysis. Despite representing fewer than one in five farms, these holdings accounted for around 44% of the EU’s utilised agricultural area.

The figures suggest that precision farming remains concentrated among larger agricultural businesses, where investment in digital technologies is typically easier to support.

Cyprus Lags Behind EU Leaders

Luxembourg, Finland and Estonia recorded the highest shares of utilised agricultural area managed by farms using precision farming technologies, each exceeding 75%.

At the other end of the ranking, Cyprus recorded just 1%, while Greece and Romania reported between 10% and 15%. The results indicate that Cyprus remains at an early stage of digital adoption in agriculture, even as precision farming becomes more widespread across parts of the European Union.

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