China's corn procurement unlikely to affect prices

China's purchases of US corn this year will not be significant enough to have a major impact on global prices, even after its unexpected purchase last month, Rabobank NV said in a monthly report.

Some farmers in China still hold inventory and are likely to lower the selling price going into the spring and summer, when quality tends to worsen, analysts Luke Chandler and Doug Whitehead wrote in a report. Production in China this coming season may rise given the increase in planting acreage indicated in a recent local survey, they said.

China's soy purchases in the year through September may rise to more than 45 million tonnes, compared with 43 million tonnes estimated by the USDA, they said.

Demand for soy in China may have been dramatically underestimated by the market, and the standoff between China and Argentina over soyoil quality specifications would boost China's soy imports by five million to seven million tonnes if it does not seek alternative sources for the oil, Rabobank said.