China’s corn imports soar in September as Beijing moves to counter skyrocketing domestic prices
- China’s imports of corn surged to 1.08 million tonnes last month, 675 per cent higher than the same period last year, according to customs data
- Wild weather in Autumn stirred concerns about corn shortages in China, but the government says the country is on track for a bumper harvest
China’s corn imports soared nearly sevenfold from a year earlier to four-and-a-half year high in September as Beijing sought to address a domestic supply shortage and skyrocketing prices with shipments from the United States.
Imports of corn surged to 1.08 million tonnes last month, 675 per cent above the same period last year and an acceleration from the 339 per cent increase recorded in August, according to calculations by the South China Morning Post based on import data released by China’s General Administration of Customs.
September’s corn imports were at the highest level since April 2016, the year the government stopped buying corn at a fixed, low-price for the national reserves and the once oversupplied domestic market became tighter.
Imports from the US led the way last month, soaring 1,244 per cent from a year earlier, while purchases from Russia and Ukraine also rose dramatically. China even bought 13,973 tonnes of corn from neighbouring Laos, a small producer on its southwest border.
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China's corn prices remain high amid supply-demand imbalance