Japan corn buyers wait for government feed price guidelines

Japanese feedmillers haven't bought much corn since the last week of February, as they await the announcement of compound feed pricing guidelines for the second quarter of 2009 by the Japanese government, a trader in Tokyo said Wednesday (March 11).

"The government will likely announce its price guidelines for compound feed soon, and since most millers price their product closely to the recommended price, they are waiting for the government announcement," said Nobuyuki Chino, a trader with Tokyo-based Unipac Grain Ltd.

Traders expect the government announcement by the end of next week, he said.

In the first three weeks of February, Japanese feedmillers bought 1.2 million to 1.4 million tonnes of corn for the April-June quarter, which is around one third of the total second quarter import requirement, he said.

"I expect buying to pick up pace from the fourth week of March, once the government issues its price guidelines," said Chino.

Japan is the world's biggest corn importer.