Japan slows down on corn imports at 1.2 million tonnes

Japanese companies have imported around 1.2 million tonnes of US-origin corn over the past two-three weeks for delivery in the April-June quarter, a Tokyo-based trader said Tuesday (February 17).

"The buying has been at a slower pace than last year," said Nobuyuki Chino, a trader with grains buying firm Unipac Grains Ltd.

Traders are in no rush to stock up on corn as they expect corn prices to remain stable at least until May, when the new US crop is sown.

The landed price of US corn in Japan has remained largely unchanged over the last month, at around US$200/tonne, cost-and-freight, he said.