China's agricultural trade deficit surged by 80 percent year-on-year during the first four months of the year, signaling the country's growing reliance on food imports.

During the first four months of 2012, the country's total agricultural trade volume jumped to $54.7 billion, up 17.7 percent from the same period last year, according to data released by the Ministry of Agriculture on May 31.

During this period, agricultural imports surged by 27.6 percent year-on-year to $35.2 billion, while exports were up 3.3 percent from last year to $19.5 billion, official data showed. This led to a deficit of $15.7 billion.

According to the official statistics, imports of soybeans, corn, wheat, cotton and sugar saw steady increases compared with the same period last year. By contrast, more fruits and vegetables were exported than imported, official data showed.

[email protected]