China Corn Imports Hit All-Time High

China imported a record amount of corn in November, giving rise to optimism that prices may be getting into their longest rally since 1988. 

Pro Farmer says China bought 12 times more corn last month than in 2019. 

Customs data shows that for the first 11 months of 2020, imports more than doubled to nine million tons, passing China’s World Trade Organization commitments of 7.2 million tons for the first time in history. 

The surge in corn imports pushed the overall Chinese grain prices higher. 

An official with the Chinese ag ministry says the Southeast Asian country has boosted imports of other feed grains like barley and DDGs to help narrow the supply gap. 

Higher prices are likely to give farmers the incentive to increase their corn planting next year, ensuring farmers have basic self-sufficiency. 

China imported 1.3 million tons of corn in November, up 1,130 percent from November of 2019, while imports for the year totaled 9.04 million tons through November, up 122.7 percent from the same time last year.

(Story Courtesy of the NAFB News Service)