September 26, 2007

China's corn imports remain stable despite growing demand

As the world's second biggest corn producer, China's volume of corn imports or exports often causes great fluctuation of the international market. However, there is a transformation from the basic equilibrium of corn supply and demand to the demand surplus to supply, said Jiang Jianhua, Director of the Chinese Association of Grain Sector.

China is now making significant efforts to implement policies that are favourable to farmers to encourage them to grow corn, according to relevant experts. At present, the sown area of corn is continuously increasing and the output keeps growing every year. The consumption of corn used for breeding has also increased steadily. However, the government's reducing of subsidies to the intensive processing of grains has restricted the growth of the sector's demand for corn.

China's corn output during 2007/2008 is expected to be 149 million tonnes, the domestic consumption 145 million tonnes, and the surplus 4 million tonnes, based on forecasting from the China Grain and Cooking Oil Information Centre.