China to take 30% of US corn production in current marketing year

WASHINGTON - China is forecast to take more than 30% of US sorghum production this year, making it by far the single biggest user for the grain, according to the US Grains Council, which  has actively been promoting sorghum in China due to the fact that it is not subject to a tariff rate quota restriction, like corn.

“Despite all of the complexities surrounding China’s feedstuff needs, one thing remains constant: end-users love the quality and value of imported feed products. Huge import margins remain for corn, sorghum and DDGS due to high domestic price support policies,” the USGC says in its latest newsletter.

“Despite several years of production increases and a record crop last year, corn prices in China continue to rise. Additionally, the demand for high-quality corn continues to outpace available supply. According to the most recent USGC data, theoretical import margins into southern Chinese ports now stand at almost US$180 per ton.”

According to Chinese customs and US Department of Agriculture (USDA) data, China has imported more than three million metric tonnes each of US corn, sorghum and distiller’s dried grains with solubles (DDGS) for this marketing year, which ends August 31.

Following China’s November 2013 announcement of zero tolerance for Syngenta’s MIR 162 trait, China’s corn imports from the United States ground to a halt – but  the slowdown in corn imports contributed to a surge in sorghum imports. 

“Factoring in China importing 7.5 million tons of U.S. soybeans last month, if this were baseball, you could say China has ‘hit for the cycle,’ getting a single, a double, a triple and a home run in the same baseball game,” said Kevin Roepke, USGC director of trade development in China. “The demand is clearly there. This is quite a historic moment, especially when you consider all of the challenges.”  www.grains.org (ATI).