Farmers in China are being hit by foreign "green" trade barriers which are threatening the prospects for the country to become a major exporter of agricultural products in the wake of its entry to the World Trade Organization.

The warning came from foreign trade experts and industrial insiders.

"Green" trade barriers refer to technical, safety and hygiene standards introduced for the benefit of environment and public health.

The country's agricultural exports have met with a growing number of such barriers in the first half of this year and the trend may continue, said Professor Xue Rongjiu, of the University of International Business and Economics.

"It has become a pressing and critical problem for China to strengthen its capability to cross over those barriers that are posing unprecedented challenges to its exports of farm goods grown in a traditional way," said Xue, a prominent researcher on WTO studies.

In 2001, China's exports of farm produce fell by US$7 billion as a result of "green" trade barriers, Xue said.

A total of 1,140 shipment batches of farm goods were held up by the US Food and Drug Administration in the first three months of this year allegedly for violation of environment and health standards.

Xue said the barriers have greatly affected China's farm goods exports, especially in the coastal areas where most of the country's exports come from.

For instance, the volume of exported frozen chickens via Shenzhen port in South China's Guangdong Province declined by 40 per cent year-on-year in the first four months of this year as a result of limits from "green" trade barriers.

What's worse, the countries that apply "green" trade barriers to Chinese agricultural goods have expanded from developed WTO members such as the United States, Japan and European Union nations to include some other members including South Korea and Singapore.

At the same time, the categories of affected farm goods have also increased from tea, honey, frozen chicken to cover all livestock and aquatic products, the professor said.

The ''green'' trade barriers have made it unlikely that China can dominate in the exports of labour-intensive farm products that range from vegetables, nuts and fruit to shrimp or poultry.

Xue blamed the worsening problem on poor environmental awareness and lax quality management systems.