July 25, 2006

China's industrial corn demand likely to be up 13.5 percent

China's corn processing industry expects demand to rise 13.5 percent in the marketing year ending Sep 2007, China Securities Journal reported Monday (Jul 24).

Industrial demand for corn is expected to rise by 3.5 million tonnes on-year to 29.5 million tonnes in 2006-2007, said Wang Xiaohui, an official at National Grain and Oil Information Centre.

China's corn output is likely to reach 142 million tonnes in 2006-2007, up 1.9 percent from 2005-2006, NGOIC said.

Almost 80 percent of China's corn output is used to make animal feed, with the rest going to industrial products, according to NGOIC. The rise in industrial use may mean lesser corn available for feed use if production remains at current levels.

However, as production may increase and China's exports is expected to fall during this period, corn prices may not necessarily rise, Wang added.