June 25, 2012

Japan's livestock feed production corn ratio down 43.9% in April

Following poor US harvests in the past two years as local feed makers continued switching corn with cheaper wheat, Japan's livestock feed production corn ratio dropped to 43.9% in April, a level not seen in the past two decades.

A drop of one percentage point in the ratio from a year earlier would cut purchases by Japan, the world's No.one importer of corn, by about 100,000 tonnes per year.

Japan traditionally relies on US corn, although it produces almost no corn of its own for feed use. Last year, Japan sourced 87% of its corn for animal feed from the US.

The ratio of corn used in feed fell to a two-decade low of 44.3% in March, from 44.6% in February, according to preliminary data from the Ministry of Agriculture.

The ratio of wheat in the country's feed production in April rose to 3.2%, also the highest at least in the past two decades, from 2.7% in March.

Overall compound feed shipments totalled 1.96 million tonnes in April, down 4% from a year earlier, the data also showed. The fall was mainly in reaction to higher shipments in March as feed makers raised compound feed prices from April, reflecting a rise in the cost of importing feed stocks, an agriculture ministry official said.