December 30, 2011

China's imports of distillers dried grains (DDGS) fell 48.6% in the first 11 months to 1.5 million tonnes, China National Grain and Oils Information Centre (CNGOIC) said Thursday (Dec 29).

The corn-based animal feed was the subject of an anti-dumping probe against US exporters, which the Ministry of Commerce on Wednesday said it would extend by six months to June 28.

Imports of the agricultural commodity this year have continued to come largely from the US, the CNGOIC said, attributing the sharp decline to Beijing's anti-dumping investigation.

Imports of US DDGS rose 3.8 times last year from 2009 to 3.16 million tonnes, sparking bilateral trade tensions. In 2008, China imported just 45,000 tonnes of the commodity, which is a byproduct as corn is turned into ethanol.

Before 2008, there were "hardly any" DDGS imports, the CNGOIC said.