Chinese cereal imports to North Korea increased in May, Beijing’s latest figures show, an uptick following a slow first quarter which saw overall levels drop sharply when compared to the last four months of 2018.

Numbers collated by the ITC Trade map show China shipped cereals, a trade category which includes staple foods like rice, corn and maize, valued at $5.6 million in May, a near $2 million increase on April and the highest monthly export since November last year.

The figure is also notably higher than during the same month last year, when China cereal exports