June 18, 2000

Taiwan may buy more corn from India, China this year

Taiwan will likely import more corn from India and China in 2008 due to the lower ocean freight costs, Herbert Huang, assistant secretary-general of the Taiwan Feed Industry Association, said Wednesday (June 18, 2008).

He said some Taiwanese feed companies are also replacing corn with alternative crops such as sorghum and barley, adding the overall Taiwanese corn imports will remain unchanged in 2008 compared with previous years.

Taiwan imports around 4 million tonnes of corn annually, with the bulk of the supply coming from the US.

Herbert said the landed cost of Indian corn is currently US$20-US$30/tonne less than US corn mainly due to lower freight costs, but he added the volume of imports will depend on how much corn India can supply.

India's corn crop is currently being planted and experts have predicted a sharp rise in acreage as farmers are encouraged by high global prices. The federal government has also ruled out any ban on corn exports.