November 14, 2006

China's new corn export quotas not expected to impact market

China's newly released corn export quotas are not expected to impact the market substantially, the National Grain and Oil Trade Centre (NGOTC) said Monday (Nov 13).

The National Development and Reform Commission, China's top economic planning agency, issued 4-million-tonne corn export quotas last week, according local traders.

The NGOTC is a major grain trading centre in China under the State Grain Administration.

"The (corn export) quotas were granted only for corn to be exported under contracts signed in the past," said the Centre in a statement on its website, citing Wang Xiaohui, who heads the Market Monitoring Division of the China National Grains and Oils Information Centre (CNGOIC).

CNGOIC is a major government-backed think-tank in the agricultural sector.

Local traders said Chinese grain companies signed contracts in September and October to export over 4 million tonnes of corn for delivery late 2006 and early 2007.

"The new release of export quotas will have a very limited impact on the market as most of corn to be exported under the quotas is from old crops," Wang added.

China's corn output is expected to reach 142 million tonnes in the 2006/07 crop year, which runs from October to September, according to CNGOIC.