March 22, 2011
 

US corn exports to be diverted in Japan

American stockfeed lobby group, the US Grains Council, said millions of tonnes of corn bound for Japan might need to be diverted.

Fifteen million tonnes of corn are sent to Japan annually, and shipments were originally bound for damaged ports in devastated areas.

US Grain Council's Erick Erickson said that it is still difficult to obtain information about the situation, almost a fortnight after the earthquake and tsunami.

"We are very active in Japan because it is the number one importer of US corn," he said. "We are trying to follow the situation which is still largely uncertain and a lot of things are unknown. We are aware of a number of shiploads of corn on the high seas destined for Japan are being redirected away from ports that were damaged."