September 20, 2007

China to check expansion of corn processing sector

China will more strictly control the expansion of industrial processing projects that use corn in order to meet the country's growing demand for feedmeal, the National Development and Reform Commission said Thursday (Sep 20).

The country's top economic planner said on its Web site it will no longer approve new projects, and will halt approved projects that haven't started.

Such projects will be listed as "restricted" to foreign investment, and all foreign investments in the sector will be rejected temporarily, the NDRC said.

To ensure a balance between domestic supply and demand, it also requested exporters of corn to cut shipments "in principle".

The country's corn output in 2010 is estimated to be around 150 million tonnes, up 14 percent from 2006, while domestic demand for corn may rise 3.5 percent from 2006 to around 150 million tonnes, it said.