May 16, 2008

South Korea's grain imports to rise in June as prices slip from record highs

South Korea's grain imports are expected to pick up in June on expected drop in prices.

Yet the increases may not be huge due to modest demand from the livestock industry.

South Korean grain importers stood on the sidelines in recent months as they had made significant advance purchases due to soaring global grain prices.

As of February, South Korea purchased over 8 million tonnes of grains, more than half of the 14.1 million tonnes that the country requires for 2008, the farm ministry reported.

Recently, the expected demand from South Korea's livestock industry may be reduced as it struggles with falling meat prices and rising feed costs.

Many domestic farmers have been forced to bankruptcy in recent months, hit by the country's worst-ever bird flu outbreak.

One trader said that imports will pick up as prices go down but the market may turn more volatile.

South Korean grain importers issued only a few tenders in April and May and had to scrap some of them as prices of corn, the main feedstock, hit record highs on weather-related delays to US corn planting.