August 23, 2013

China's sudden decision to increase its imports of US sorghum, is not a one-time-thing, says US Grains Council's (USGC) manager of global trade, Alvaro Cordero. Historically, China imports the majority of its sorghum from Australia and Myanmar for alcohol use.

According to Cordero, today's US sorghum price is trading at a US$40/tonne price advantage over Australian origins. This provides a strong incentive for importers and end-users to purchase sorghum from the US.

China is currently expecting a delivery of 600,000 tonnes. However some traders expect that to be significantly higher in the upcoming crop year.

The 2013-14 US sorghum crop is expected to significantly increase from the previous year's production to roughly 9.1 million tonnes. And with that exports are expected to double from 1.9 million tonnes in 2012-13 to 3.8 million tonnes in 2013-14.

"This new demand from China is critical to maintaining a healthy US sorghum industry. Equally important is that the Chinese buyers properly use sorghum in their milling and rations. These two factors will enable future exports and increase consumption of sorghum as a feed component in China," Cordero said.