February 20, 2012

South Korea's KFA purchases optional origin corn

For arrival by mid-May, around 55,000 tonnes of optional origin corn from Hamburg-based Alfred C. Toepfer International GmbH have been purchased by Korea Feed Association (KFA) at US$307.40/tonne, trading executives said Friday (Feb 17).

This is the lowest price South Korean feed millers have paid for corn in a month and traders said the cargo may be supplied from the Black Sea region or Central Europe.

During purchases a month ago, near-month CBOT wheat futures fell below US$6 a bushel. They are trading around US$6.47 now.

Earlier this week, South Korean feed millers purchased US corn at US$319.78-321.83/tonne and optional origin at US$316.34/tonne, C&F.

South Korea, one of the world's largest importers of feed grains, has purchased more than two million tonnes since January 6, about half of which is corn.