China 2008-09 corn demand growth to slow, supply up

China's corn consumption in the 2008-2009 crop year may grow at a slower pace than the previous year due to sluggish feedmeal demand, said an analyst with a government think tank Friday.

The slow growth may boost the country's surplus as output is expected to increase, Wang Xiaohui, a department chief with the China National Grain and Oils Information Center, said in a conference organized by the center.

China's feedmeal consumption in the crop year that started October is expected to increase two percent to 91.5 million tonnes while the output may rise five percent to 138 million tonnes, said Wang. Feedmeal output in the earlier crop year grew 11 percent.

Consumption of feedmeal is rising steadily on meat sales increase, as the country's population expands and animal farming takes off on an industrial scale rather than the earlier practice of marginal farmers rearing them in their backyards, he said.

Still, good corn harvest, with the domestic output rising 8.7 percent on-year to 165.5 million tonnes last year, will help the country build up its stocks.

China's corn output in 2009 calendar year is expected to fall 1.5 percent to 163 million tonnes, according to the center.