November 6, 2009

Thailand sells corn to China, more to follow

Thailand has sold 6,000 tonnes of corn to a Chinese feedmill and is likely to sell more as demand remains strong and the government has plenty to sell from its stocks, traders and officials said on Thursday (Nov 5).

The corn was sold through a Singapore-based trader at US$195 per tonne and shipment should start in November, said Tavee Tantiponganant, president of Nanapan Agri-Industrial Co.

Tavee said some of the corn came from government stocks released over the past few months.

That was the second lot Nanapan had sold to China after 3,000 tonnes were sold to China's New Hope Group in September.

Traders said any large corn purchases by China, a net exporter of the grain until 2003, could boost US corn futures prices.

Thailand's Ministry of Commerce sold around 600,000 tonnes of corn from stocks -- bought from farmers since late 2008 -- through tenders in September.

However 400,000 tonnes of that corn sold to local traders must be exported before November 30, a senior ministry official said.

In November, traders said they expected around 200,000 tonnes of corn to be exported, mostly to feedmills in Vietnam and Malaysia.