China Looks to Alternate Sources as Corn Imports Look Set to Surge
Jiang Yunzhang
Translated by Song Chunling
June 15, 2011
Original article: [Chinese]
http://baihangdp.com/2011/0623/204421.shtml
The EO has learned from China's Customs Administration that the country imported 12,010 tons of corn in May, more than double the quantity imported during the same month last year.
The customs data also showed that three quarters of all of the corn imported in May was sourced from Myanmar.
China began to import corn in significant quantities for the first time in 15 years during the latter half of 2010, with 1.56 million tons of corn imported that year, most of it from the US. This was more than 18 times the 83,000 tons of corn the country imported in 2009 and almost 32 times the 49,000 tons imported in 2008.
The EO learned from the Chinese Customs Administration that corn imports from January to May this year increased by 3.2% on last year's figure to 24,442 tons, with 2,300 tons imported in March and 9,900 tons in April.
Similar to last year's pattern, imports have remained relatively low in the first half of the year but are expected to increase dramatically over the coming 4 months before peaking in October.
According to one analyst, China is likely to import even more grain this year due to the gap between domestic supply and demand.
An insider from China National Food Industry Association (CNFIA), a national-level body representing the country's food industry, said the price of corn had risen by more than 10% in the first 6 months of this year and with another four months to wait before corn grown in the country's northeast will reach the market, in the absence of any other alternate domestic supply and with government reserves pushed to the limit, there is little that can be done to control markets and further price rises appear inevitable.
The main reason for the significant increase in corn imports for May is that delivery of some of the one million tons of corn that China Grain Reserves Corporation (Sinograin), the state-owned corporation that manages China's central government grain reserves, agreed to purchase from the US in March, began to arrive at Chinese ports in May.
Many analysts believe that the customs data for May reveals that China is actively expanding the sources of its corn imports in an attempt to gain a better bargaining position when it comes to negotiating the price of imported corn.
Links and Sources
The Economic Observer: Some Corn with Your Soybeans? China's Corn Imports Surge
http://baihangdp.com/ens/2010/1124/187131.shtml
Sinograin: Official Site
http://www.sinograin.com.cn/eng/index_Eng.jsp
Translated by Song Chunling
Economic Observer Online
June 23, 2011
Original article: [Chinese]
The EO has learned from China's Customs Administration that the country imported 12,010 tons of corn in May, more than double the quantity imported during the same month last year.
The customs data also showed that three quarters of all of the corn imported in May was sourced from Myanmar.
China began to import corn in significant quantities for the first time in 15 years during the latter half of 2010, with 1.56 million tons of corn imported that year, most of it from the US. This was more than 18 times the 83,000 tons of corn the country imported in 2009 and almost 32 times the 49,000 tons imported in 2008.
The EO learned from the Chinese Customs Administration that corn imports from January to May this year increased by 3.2% on last year's figure to 24,442 tons, with 2,300 tons imported in March and 9,900 tons in April.
Similar to last year's pattern, imports have remained relatively low in the first half of the year but are expected to increase dramatically over the coming 4 months before peaking in October.
According to one analyst, China is likely to import even more grain this year due to the gap between domestic supply and demand.
A source at , a national-level body representing the country's grain industry, told the EO that the price of corn had risen by more than 10% in the first 6 months of this year and with another four months to wait before corn grown in the country's northeast will reach the market, in the absence of any other alternate domestic supply and with government reserves pushed to the limit, there is little that can be done to control markets and further price rises appear inevitable.
The main reason for the significant increase in corn imports for May is that delivery of some of the one million tons of corn that China Grain Reserves Corporation (Sinograin), the state-owned corporation that manages China's central government grain reserves, agreed to purchase from the US in March, began to arrive at Chinese ports in May.
Many analysts believe that the customs data for May reveals that China is actively expanding the sources of its corn imports in an attempt to gain a better bargaining position when it comes to negotiating the price of imported corn.
Links and Sources
The Economic Observer: Some Corn with Your Soybeans? China\'s Corn Imports Surge
