China expects to import more Japanese rice soon, after earlier this year allowing the first shipment from Japan in four years, a top official said Wednesday.
The head of China's consumer watchdog told reporters efforts were being made to pave the way for the future shipments and would soon bear fruit.
"I believe the second and third shipments of Japanese rice will enter the Chinese market soon," said Li Changjiang, head of the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection, and Quarantine.
However, Li declined to say whether future shipments would be larger than the inital batch imported after China agreed in April to lift a four-year-old ban.
China banned rice imports from Japan in 2003, saying insects were found in a shipment, and efforts to resume the trade had earlier faltered amid tense relations between the two countries.
China is the world's largest rice consumer, although it is self-sufficient. Japan, which heavily protects its rice farmers, is looking to tap a market among wealthy Chinese consumers for high-end rice.
Li, who signed the April agreement lifting the ban along with Japanese farm minister Toshikatsu Matsuoka, said the initial batch was nearly sold out.
Ties between the two Asian giants have improved considerably over the past year as former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe, who recently resigned, has reached out to Japan's neighbour.
