March 6, 2007

China not importing corn this year, following record harvest

As the US and other nations grapple with an increasing appetite for corn throughout the world, China's state-owned grains bureau said on Monday it would not be importing corn this year, thanks to a record harvest.

China would be unlikely to import corn as it has just had a record harvest of 144 million tonnes, Nie Zhenbang, head of state Grains Administration said.

China's 2006 corn crop totalled 144 million tonnes, larger than an earlier estimate of 142 million tonnes by the China National Grain and Oils Information Centre.