May 10, 2004

China to Become a Net Corn Importer Within 10 Years

An eFeedLink Exclusive

A training session on specialized corn production techniques was recently held in Shenyang city of Liaoning province, China. During the session, it was revealed that China would gradually switch from being a net corn exporter to becoming a net corn importer within the next 10 years.

Experts forecast that China's corn supply will be able to satisfy its domestic demand before 2005/06. With the European Union and the Japanese market resisting to the imports of US genetically modified corn, US corn export is likely to decrease in the next few years. Given the increasing corn demand from its neighboring countries, China might be able to export a certain volume of corn in the near future.

However, China's corn consumption will begin to outstrip supply subsequently after 2005/06, and the demand / supply imbalance will become increasingly larger. By then, while utilizing its corn reserves, China has to import a substantial volume of corn to maintain a balanced demand / supply relationship.