China’s Corn-Market Pop Could Lift American Farmers

Withdrawing the supports caused Chinese corn prices to plunge.

Low prices and the lingering oversupply led farmers to cut back production.

China uses corn primarily for animal feed, but low domestic prices over the past four years caused it to find other uses as well, such as for cooking starch.

But with prices now soaring, industry analysts say they expect China to step up imports of corn and other grains, such as sorghum and barley, to help meet demand.

grain farmers, suffering from falling prices this year.

China bought 2.1 million metric tons of corn through July 16, up from 315 thousand metric tons in the same period last year, according to the U.S.

On July 10, China’s Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs said it expected to import six million metric tons of corn in the 12 months ending this September.

But analysts say imports will also help relieve corn shortages emerging in parts of the country and hold down prices for users such as ethanol producers, struggling to make a profit.

Import corn prices are currently around 600 yuan ($86) a metric ton lower than domestic corn prices in China.