China's Agricultural Minister urges locals to rely home-corn production 

To attain self-sufficiency in corn production, China should depend on local resources instead of importing from other countries to keep up with the increasing demand, Agricultural Minister Han Changfu said.

China should increase acreage planted with corn and use technology to improve yields, Han wrote in an opinion article published in the official People's Daily newspaper May 26.

Corn yields in China, the world's second-largest corn producer, are more than 35% below yields in the US, offering plenty of scope for improvement, Han wrote. In addition, the opportunity exists to significantly increase acreage planted with corn, he said.

China was a net exporter of corn until 2009, but surging demand has led to an increase in imports despite continued strong output and high levels of inventories. China's corn imports in the marketing year that begins July 1 may rise as much as 75% to seven million tonnes, up from an estimated four million tonnes in 2011-12, the International Grains Council said last week.

Last year China imported 1.7 million tonnes of corn.

The total volume of corn currently available for exports on the global market accounts for only 55% of China's annual corn consumption, meaning China cannot rely on the global market to meet its need for corn, he said.

"China's corn demand is huge and there are many uncertainties on the international market, so we can't rely on corn imports to meet fast-rising demand," Han said.

China's corn imports would be at risk if major corn exporters such as the US, Brazil and Argentina encountered severe natural disasters or adjusted their trade policies, he said.