March 15, 2011

Japan's corn supply likely hit by quake

Japan's grain supplies such as corn and rice are likely to be impacted in several areas of northern Japan due to the recent earthquake and tsunami, trading executives said Monday (Mar 15).

The major problem that has arisen due to the tragedy is the delay in inland transportation of agricultural commodities, said Nobuyuki Chino, president of Tokyo-based commodities trading company Unipac Grain.

Chino said compound animal feed prices are likely to go up by an average of JPY2,000 (US$24.47) a tonne, as many feed mills will operate well below normal capacity in the damaged areas.

Most traders expect that it will take several weeks to restore the grains transportation network to normalcy, and around six months for feed milling factories to start operating at full capacity again in the quake-affected region.