June 8, 2007

 

South Korea receives first Chinese corn shipment in three months

 

 

South Korea will receive its first Chinese corn in almost three months since China resumed corn exports after March, traders said on Wednesday (Mar 7).

 

At least 300,000 tonnes of Chinese corn will be shipped to South Korean feed makers by end of August, said a Seoul-based trader at an international grain house.

 

Traders said about 150,000 tonnes of Chinese corn was set to be delivered to South Korea by July and more corn is expected to come.

 

However, traders cautioned that these are not new deals.

 

Now the origin of the corn is decided after they had made an optional-origin deal, said another trader.

 

Most deals were sealed at US$220-$230 per tonne, including cost and freight, for US or South American corn, while buyers expected a discount of about $6-$8 a tonne for Chinese grain compared to other origins.

 

Nonghyup Feed Inc. will receive one panamax cargo of Chinese corn early next week and Major Feedmill Group (MFG) will get two cargoes of the grain in late June and July.

 

Some traders, however, said Chinese corn prices are not low enough to attract a large volume of fresh demand.

 

Importers now have to pay US$210 per tonne on free-on-board, which is close to what US corn would cost, an official said.

 

South Korea, the world's third-largest corn importer, prefers Chinese corn for its cheaper prices.

 

A record crop has led China to allow exports of some 1 million tonnes in April. Last year, Beijing asked exporters to slow sales as it worried about soaring domestic prices.