May 16, 2007

Taiwan to diversify corn sources

Taiwan feed makers are looking to buy more corn from Latin American countries as US corn prices remain high, the island's top feed supplier said on Tuesday (May 14).

Corn from non-US sources could account for a-fifth of the island's roughly 5 million-tonne-per-year market, the association said.

Currently, Taiwan's corn imports is almost entirely dependant on the US, with the second largest source of foreign corn, Argentina, only accounting for 2 percent of corn imports, Paul Chen, secretary-general of the Taiwan Feed Industry Association said.

Taiwan is hugely dependent on soy and corn imports for its feed industry.

As corn prices are rising, corn acreage in Latin America is expected to rise significantly, Chen said. At the moment, suppliers are leaning towards corn from Argentina, where a record 22 million tonne crop is expected this season.

South Africa is also another destination under consideration, Chen revealed.