May 19, 2004

China Corn Exports Fell To 70,000 MT In April 

China exported about 70,000 metric tons of corn in April, sharply lower than the 550,000 tons exported in April 2003, the China Securities newspaper reported Wednesday, citing data from China's General Administration of Customs.

In January-April, China corn exports are pegged around 1.11 million tons, down 75.3% from 4.48 million tons in the same period of 2003. In the first four months of 2004, China did not import any corn, said the report.

China's official customs data is usually released on the 20th day of each month, but government agencies and state-owned media sometimes have access to the data earlier than that.

China Securities is a unit of the official Xinhua News Agency.

China corn exports in the 2004 calendar year could fall to a low of 2.50 million tons, compared with the record high of 16.39 million tons in 2003, according to Zhu Chang-Guo, the deputy director general of China State Bureau of Grains.