November 16, 2012

China to see 4.1% rise for corn production

China's corn production is expected to reach 201 million tonnes in 2012, a 4.1% rise over 2011.

As the second largest corn producing and consuming country in the world after the US, China is improving agricultural technology to raise corn output and ensure grain safety.

The country yielded 177 million tonnes of corn in 2010 and 192 million tonnes in 2011.

Although China has seen bumper harvests of the corn crop in the past several years, its corn imports have been expanding with mounting demand from deep processing and animal breeding industries.

Data from the General Administration of Customs show that the country's corn imports rose persistently since 2008 and hit a record high of 5.5 million tonnes in the crop year of 2011-12.

To avoid being a large corn importing country, China has been pursuing an approach of using technological innovation to guarantee grain output.

Wang Lichun, a researcher of the Jilin Academy of Agricultural Sciences, notes that China's corn output has huge rise potential. Currently, the country's average corn yield is about 5,745 kilogrammes per hectare, much lower than 9,000 kilogrammes per hectare in the US and other developed countries.

According to Zheng Yujie, a researcher with CIConsulting, the moderate imports of corn will help balance supply and demand on the domestic corn market and are favourable for preventing fluctuations of corn prices.